I'm definitely a sweaty hands guy so I keep a box of vinyl inspection gloves handy, lightly powered. It took some getting used to the feel (or lack there of), but this too shall pass. I go through a few sets per stringing from handling the wire. They fit tight and therefore do not interfere with my work pace or agility, nor is there any debris left in the piano. It's well worth protecting the wire from the needless oxidation that results from even the cleanest hands. Jude Reveley, RPT Absolute Piano Restoration, LLC Lowell, Massachusetts (978) 323-4545 ----- Original Message ----- From: Michael Magness To: Pianotech List Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2007 9:49 AM Subject: Stringing Faux Pas or Not Taught Anymore? In a post relating to counter bearing drag John Delacour raised a very good point. He was talking about a piano he had acquired from another tech that had been stored in a shed for a year and how the copper on the strings was dull, there was some rust etc. His suspicion was that the person who strung it hadn't worn gloves. I recall being at a tech session in the recent past run by the shop manager for a reputable rebuilder who went through several innovations they had come up with for streamlining the process of stringing a piano. There were about 20 techs present and no one raised the question of why they weren't wearing gloves! I not wanting to embaress the presenter, mentioned it after the fact, privately and they had no knowledge of the need for it! I actually suggested gloves or my favorite, cornstarch, I find gloves cumbersome, they slow me down, especially when handling wire. Finding gloves isn't easy for me I wear an XXlarge but I was originally taught back in class to keep a box of regular old cornstarch handy. Pour about a teaspoonful in your hand and put some back into the other and rub them together carefully then "wash" your hands in the cornstarch. It will absorb the hand oils, sweat etc. on your hands. Pour some into the box of tuning pins, a generous amount, so every time you reach for a pin you re-apply it to your fingers. Every so often, when you change wire sizes, perhaps, re-apply from the box. Not enough will cling to the tuning pins to affect anything, your tuning pin tray will look messy but it will vacuum out or blow out with a compressor. If any sticks a little work with a small brush will dislodge it, most importantly your piano that you labored over will not begin to rust prematurely. The downside is you will have very, very dry hands but I've found that to be an occupational hazard, along with having a daily stuffy nose. -- Michael Magness Magness Piano Service 608-786-4404 www.IFixPianos.com email mike at ifixpianos.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20070808/ae4fda69/attachment.html
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