In a message dated 9/24/07 10:19:37 A.M. Hawaiian Standard Time, JD at Pianomaker.co.uk writes: At 05:36 -0400 24/9/07, Wimblees at aol.com wrote: >...SoÊif these leads are oxidizing in just a few years, then >wouldn'tÊnew leadsÊdo the same thing in a couple of years, >consideringÊwhere the piano is located? No, unless the new leads were as impure as the originals. Good lead does not oxidize like that. For over 100 years action makers and keymakers have from time to time been sold bad lead and used it probably without thinking of the need to have it analysed. There is no excuse nowadays for not making sure the lead is pure. Only certain pianos from certain eras are prone to this problem. For example I was called out to a ca. 1910 Bechestein not long ago where the oxidation was so bad that all the keys and damper bodies were jammed together. I have just taken in a 1923 Bechstein that has no sign of oxidation. Both pianos have spent their lives at the sea-side, but that is hardly relevant. I've just removed perfect leads from an upright of 1875 which had spent its life in Liverpool, one of the most industrialised sea-ports. JD I wonder if there is something else going on here besides the quality of the leads. I just recently had the same problem with a 30 year old Kimball grand. The leads were so bad that none of the keys worked. I wound up breaking off 3 hammers taking the action out, because the keys wouldn't come up. And I have just done a set of keys from a 20 year old K&C console with a dampp-chaser inside. Why would some key leads corrode, and not others, even from the same company? Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT Piano Tuner/Technician Honolulu, Hawaii Author, "The Business of Piano Tuning". available from Potter Press. www.pianotuning.com ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20070924/7ba1e403/attachment.html
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