Re-directed use of perfectly good Vodka!

[Roger Jolly]

Hi Dave,
             A good post, I would also like to add that even when lightly
steaming, the fine voicing is always finished up with neddles and a certain
amount of light reshaping.
Both methods are just a prelude to traditional voicing, but when your back
is against the wall, and the neddles will not penetrate, some extra help is
needed.
Another technique that can help with over juiced hammers, is what I call
wet needling, saturate the hammer with acetone, leave for 10 mins so the
hardener becomes plastic, re wet, then neddle. One warning on this method,
It seems to take 48hrs before you can hear the final result, i.e. it's no
diffferent than juicing.
Regards Roger


At 08:49 AM 03/07/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Brian:
>
>I'm not one to advocate using softening agents on quality hammers that can
>be needled.  That's silly.  The time differential between the two methods is
>not that great.  I'm talking about the hammer that a needle won't
>penetrate... primarily hammers that have been over doped.  Some "quality"
>hammer makers anticipate that you will have to dope the hammers to make them
>work.  Sometimes they get over doped.
>
>This can happen particularly when technicians use the slower curing dopes
>like lacquer.  Dope once, not enough.  Dope again, still not there.  Dope
>again.  Many times this is because the first treatment has not fully cured
>before a second is applied.  In this situation, when the drying has actually
>finished the hammers are nothing but lacquer saturated mallets that no
>longer belong in a musical instrument.  In these situations, fabric softener
>can often work "miracles".
>
>A few years ago I had a teacher who liked his piano "bright" (read
>annoyingly harsh.)  He retired and his studio was then used by a piano
>teacher with normal taste in sound.  One treatment on these grossly
>overdoped hammers made the piano nice again.
>
>Snuggle is not a tool for normal voicing, but a great one for the overdoped,
>unneedleable hammer.
>
>dave
>
>_______________________________________________
>
>David M. Porritt, RPT
>Meadows School of the Arts
>Southern Methodist University
>Dallas, Texas
>dporritt@swbell.net <mailto:dporritt@swbell.net>
>_______________________________________________
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: owner-pianotech@ptg.org [mailto:owner-pianotech@ptg.org]On Behalf
>Of BDeTar@AOL.COM
>Sent: Friday, July 02, 1999 10:15 PM
>To: pianotech@ptg.org
>Subject: Re-directed use of perfectly good Vodka!
>
>
>Please excuse any redundant redundancy if someone has already posted
>something similar, but PLEASE, PLEASE, use caution when using ANY kind of
>softening agent on quality hammers.  I am currently replacing a set on a
>piano that the owner had used Vodka on.  This after a conversation with a
>sales person who heard about it from another tech.  With the money I'll
>make,
>I plan to buy a bottle of good Scotch (to drink)!
>
>Using liquid softeners instead of judicious needling, is kind of like
>playing
>the piano with boxing gloves.  You play a lot of notes, and to some, it
>sounds good, but it's kinda hard to articulate!  I realize that what is
>trying to be accomplished is to maximize the effect in the minimum amount of
>time, but some things can't be rushed.  Softening agents DO work great on
>those practice room pianos that get played constantly yet receive little or
>no maintenance.
>
>Just my humble opinion...
>
>Brian De Tar
>Positively DeFined
>BDeTar@aol.com
>
>			MEDIOCRITY IS CUMULATIVE,
>				SO IS EXCELLENCE!  bd
> 
Roger Jolly
Baldwin Yamaha Piano Centre
Saskatoon and Regina
Saskatchewan, Canada.
306-665-0213
Fax 652-0505