Juice du Jour (Lubricants for Action Centers)

[dpitsch]

The Baldwin factory taught to add a few shavings of "Irovy" soap to the alcohol &
water solution.  The ivory soap helped the solution to penetrate into the bushing
cloth.
Hope this is useful info.

JIMRPT wrote:

> In a message dated 3/12/98 8:12:34 PM, you wrote:
>
> <<"*Alcohol and water, to shrink the bushings.  My understanding is that the
>
> alcohol helps the water get into the wool fibers.  What kind of alcohol
>
> works best?  Then this mixture has to be driven out of the bushings, be
>
> this by evaporation, or ...*>>
>  Z, Z, Z,  we/I have not communicated to you properly I fear.  This because
> the Alcohol/Water solution does not "shrink the bushings" per se. What happens
> with the application of the solution, is that the water causes the flange to
> swell, which presses the bushing cloth tighter against the pin, which causes
> the wood around the hole in the flange to compress ever so slightly, and when
> the whole shebang has dried back out the flange is looser than when the
> operation began...whew!
>  Evaporation works just fine, but a good sunny day is the best thing, and/or
> hairdryers/ drying boxes may be used.
>
> <<"*Naptha, with silicone or mineral oil, supposedly to drive out the
> water.">>
>   Try this experiment Z, take a flange that is seized/sluggish with moisture
> and just put a few drops of naptha on it allow it to dry for only as long as
> it takes the naptha to evaporate..........see if the flange is looser now than
> when you started.  Next take a clear container of water add just a little
> naptha and stir well.  You will get a a layer of naptha on top of the water
> which would tell you that naptha is lighter than water. Now ask yourself, can
> a lighter substance drive out or displace a heavier substance or cause a
> heavier substance to migrate?
>  These experiments will allow you to answer for yourself the question of
> whether naptha will 'chase' moisture.
>   My use of silicone is not for the lubricity qualities, rather for the
> tendency of silicone soaked wood to resisit the absoption of moisture. With a
> properly treated action lubrication is the last thing you need to do, you
> might need to do a small amount of repinning though..
>
> <<"has anyone tried using a wetting agent in place of the alcohol?">>
>
>   Z, in this use Alcohol 'is' the wetting agent.  I am not familiar with
> PhotoFlo,but I am, by nature, suspicious of anything with a make up of
> components I can't pronounce. :-)
>
> <<"What kind of alcohol works best?">>
>  I prefer denatured alcohol but some others use rubbing alcohol and/or wood
> alcohol.  Susan, bless her poor sacrilegious heart, admits to using Everclear,
> although it is not exactly clear whether she drinks it or squirts it on the
> action parts. :-) Have you ever tasted Everclear with a touch of cherry juice
> and lime ? Such nectar should not be wasted on mere wooden piano
> parts............
> Jim Bryant (FL)