Hammer softening

[Gary Fluke]

Dean,

Yours is a good question.  Of course, isopropyl alcohol is available in drug stores everywhere.  Most of it seems to be somewhere at around 70% strength, the rest water.  I bought a quart of Denatured Alcohol at Home Depot and used that.  Somewhere in the cautionary notes on the can it said it contained methanol.  Here is American Heritage's Dictionary definition of Denatured Alcohol:

"Ethyl alcohol to which a poisonous substance, such as acetone or methanol, has been added to make it unfit for consumption." 

I used the Denatured Alcohol on the piano because I had yet to learn the definition of Denatured Alcohol.  Also, the precautionary note on the can said "contains methanol". 

I used it on a piano I own so that if there was a problem, it wouldn't become a customer's problem.  So, it turns out that, on a Kawai UST-5 anyway, the ethyl alcohol works great.

My guess is that the poisonous methanol is added so that people should die drinking it rather than forgo paying a tax on their buzz.


Gary Fluke


 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Dean May 
  To: 'Pianotech List' 
  Sent: Friday, October 05, 2007 5:34 AM
  Subject: RE: Hammer softening


  I am going to try this. Can any of the chemists comment on substituting a different kind of alcohol? Everclear could be easier to get, or Isopropyl. 

  Dean

  Dean May             cell 812.239.3359 

  PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272 

  Terre Haute IN  47802





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  From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Michael Kurta
  Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2007 5:58 PM
  To: Pianotech List
  Subject: Re: Hammer softening


      Hi Gary:
      This is a direct quote from the Baldwin service manual:
      "For a Softer Tone:  A mixture of 25% water and 75% methanol can be applied to the hammers to produce a mellower tone in Baldwin hammers.  Care should be taken not to apply to stapled areas.  The solution can be applied to the shoulders for moderate changes or to the strike point for more severe changes.  It is recommended in most cases not to apply the solution to the top octave and lowest octave since these areas usually require more tone accentuation to be musically pleasing.  It takes about 20-30 minutes for the solution to work.  Fine voicing can then be performed with shallow needling to the hammers as needed to provide a consistent note to note tone."
      I've used this solution for years and found it to work well.
  Methanol BTW, is non-permanent anti-freeze and can sometimes be found at farm supply stores.  Its also found in windshield washer fluid, but I'm not sure what else is in there and the proportion of water to methanol.

      Mike Kurta, Syracuse chapter  
      Mike Kurta, Syracuse chapter
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