Dripping Palm Oil

[Larry Fisher]

Hi all,

No not dripping palm all, or dripping palms, this stuff is for real.  I was
tuning a Weber grand and saw that some one had spilled some liquid in the
middle of the bass tuning pin area, and it left behind a very clear, but
rather thick layer of mystery material.  When picked at with a small
screwdriver blade, it chips away like thin ice, for those of you who have
frost on windshields.  A wet finger disolves it readily.  I didn't have the
incentive that day to lick my finger afterwards, sorry.  The red felt
betwixt the stretcher and the plate had some on it, and it beaded up much
like 7UP might do.  The agraffes had gotten a good application as did some
of the beginning windings of some of the bass strings.   The bass strings in
that area were rattling, buzzing.  I tried to pull up on the strings at the
agraffes to clear the buzzing and it had an immediate effect but it didn't
last, the buzzing returned a few days later.

I returned a week or so later to clean the mess.  The owner told me over the
phone that it must have been her palm tree's flowers.  My first inclination
was to say, "Yeah, right lady."  I gave the scene of the crime a second
look, saw the palm tree, and took a real close look at the plant, towering
above me at about 10-12 feet tall.  There, on the daisy chain cluster called
a flower, I saw the beads of mystery material, and some more on the dead
stuff that was around where the branches leave the main stem of the plant.
Either she sprayed the plant with 7UP before I got there, or spilled white
wine on it in convincing locations all over the plant, or this is what this
plant does on a periodic basis.

The nanny happened to find a book in the house that covered nothing but
different types of palms.  We decided that it was closest to the Chamaedorea
Elegans, or more commonly called the Parlour Palm.  Then she called the
owner and was told that it was a very rare form of palm, (not found in the
book??) and it was called an Augusta somethin er nuther.  Anybody from Jawja
know enna thin 'bout palm all??

The dried syrup cleaned up readily with a damp rag, and I used a popsicle
stick or small wooden craft stick to push the cloth in all the little places
between the tuning pins, and under the strings in front of the agraffes.  I
tried holding a rag under the bass strings and using a hypo bottle, rinsing
the windings of the strings with some alcohol and water but to little
advantage.  It cleared up the rattling but the clarity of the string was
slightly affected.  I didn't try turning the string at the hitch pin
however.  The palm sap dripped on the hammer shanks, and wiped off readily
with the damp cloth.  The sap then left a small amount on the edges of the
keys near the capstans and a very small amount ended up on the keybed.
These all wiped up easily with the damp cloth.  The felt was easily cleaned
merely by wiping the cloth with the damp rag.  I think if I were to either
turn the strings, or totally replace them, I'd have a "no trace of evidence"
type of repair.  I should really do the latter, and have left a quote and
suggestion of repairs with the owner.  I also suggested that their
homeowner's insurance should cover this.

I just thought y'all might like to have some insight into the palm tree and
it's possible leaky nature.  It darn sure should be kept away from the
pianner, unless y'all need the work.

Merry Xmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Boxing Day (a metric holiday), and to all
a great Solstice, be it long or short.

Lar



                                    Larry Fisher RPT
   specialist in players, retrofits, and other complicated stuff
      phone 360-256-2999 or email larryf@pacifier.com
         http://www.pacifier.com/~larryf/ (revised 10/96)
           Beau Dahnker pianos work best under water