Steinway Drinking

[carl meyer]

Roger:  I don't think Hilary would like to dye that stuff purple here. 
Think of the c-h-i-l-d-r-e-n-  They'd think it was grape juice.  The big 
c-h-i-l-d-r-e-n- might think its a bloody mary.  I've heard of
mentholated cigarettes, but not mentholated spirits.  Is that what you
drink when you have a sore throat?
By the way, I remember attending a class in Toronto many years ago by a
toxicologist from the Canadian goverment, who said that the toxicity of
lacquer thinner was (you would have to drink a pint of it to kill 50
percent of the imbibers)  Also, breathing the fumes may give you a
headache or naseua but would not do any permanent damage.  I was glad to
hear that since I don't find lacquer fumes that unpleasant.
He did say that at the turn of the century they put arsenic in hammer
felt to kill moths.  Interesting, huh.

Carl Meyer
Santa Clara, Ca.

Roger Jolly wrote:
> 
> Thank's Greg,
>                      I was confusing it with mentholated spirits. This side
> of the border they dye it purple to stop some people from drinking it.
> Roger
> 
> At 04:49 PM 28/03/00 -0500, you wrote:
> >I thought that mineral spirits was another name for paint thinner.
> >Greg Newell
> >
> >Roger Jolly wrote:
> >
> >> Hi Jim,
> >>            Is mineral spirits, almost pure methanol?  If so it can soften a
> >> hammer down quite radically.
> >> Roger.J
> >>
> >> At 08:08 AM 28/03/00 -0500, you wrote:
> >> >
> >> >In a message dated 3/28/2000 7:29:00 AM, you wrote:
> >> >
> >> ><<So far it looks like nobody knows what mineral spirits will do to a
> >> >Steinway pinblock or action.
> >> >
> >> >Any guesses out there?>>
> >> >
> >> >Well Roger since "guesses" are acceptable :-)
> >> > The mineral spirits make a lubricating/sizing  action take place in the
> >> >action centers..,as you have discovered and reported and will eventually,
> >> >many years down the road, possibly lead to the formation of verdigris in
> >> >those affected parts. (this based on experience following a tech who years
> >> >ago thought mineral spirits was a magic elixir and used it very
> copiously on
> >> >'everything'...most of what he treated has developed some degree of
> >> >verdigris...even in those instruments where it is not commonly found.)
> Other
> >> >than these two thingees and some 'staining' I would not "guess" the
> mineral
> >> >spirits to be a problem but I haven't seen the 'damage' :-)
> >> > The pin block is a very different matter though. I would "guess" that
> >> >initially the pins in the affected area would be less tight 'feeling' than
> >> >normal. After the mineral spirits has dried sufficiently I would "guess"
> >> that
> >> >some degradation of torque values would be apparent and as the block dries
> >> >out as much as it ever will I would expect the affected pins to develop a
> >> >snapping/jerky feel...but that is just a guess based on SWAG rather than
> >> >experience.
> >> >Jim Bryant (FL)
> >> >
> >> Roger Jolly
> >> Saskatoon, Canada.
> >> 306-665-0213
> >> Fax 652-0505
> >
> Roger Jolly
> Saskatoon, Canada.
> 306-665-0213
> Fax 652-0505