Sizing centers with alcohol & water

[Don Mannino]

John,

As others have said, 50/50 mix is useable - but is actually a rather strong mixture.  30/70 is milder, and works for many situations - and is also readily available as Isopropyl alcohol.  Some drug stores also sell 50% and 90%.

Isopropyl should not have anything but alcohol and water - but read the label to be sure.  It is also cheap and readily available.

Keep in mind that shrinking the bushings does not solve all problems.  If the sluggishness is coming from a simple tight bushing, and the cloth is still soft, or was poor quality to begin with, shrinking will help, but not necessarily fix all problems.

If the bushings are gummy from lubricants, if there are burrs on the pins snagging the cloth, if the bushings are binding on the birds-eyes, or if glue has worked through the bushing onto the pin, the shrinking solution will not be a solution.  So plan on doing a careful check for friction after a good drying out period has passed.

Don Mannino

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: John Formsma 
  To: Pianotech List 
  Sent: Monday, August 25, 2008 12:10 PM
  Subject: Sizing centers with alcohol & water


  List,


  Any thoughts on the following?


  Is the alcohol/water sizing method for centers most effective on newer centers that haven't had several seasons of changes?


  With the relatively few times I've tried sizing with alcohol and water, it hasn't worked so well.  The bushings were either so tight that that kind of sizing wasn't appropriate, or (as it turned out) corrosion was the main friction culprit. And it has been mainly on older pianos that I've tried it.  Though I did have some success with combining the solution with heat from a hair dryer.


  If a 10%-30% water solution doesn't work, will it help to go to a higher percentage of water?  Or is it that the alcohol/water sizing method just won't work at all if it doesn't work at 30%?  What's the practical upper limit?


  I will be working this week on a Baldwin vertical action with friction problems.  I thought I'd give alcohol/water a try first before repinning.


  Is methanol significantly different than ethanol?  (For this purpose, of course. I can already hear the drinking jokes coming. <G>)


  -- 
  JF
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