Lubricating V-bar

[david at piano.plus.com]

"Much to his chagrin he noticed that the tuner was spraying WD-40 over the
V-bars and bass string stagger pin........From past messages on this
listserver I found that others have had the same experience.  I don’t even
keep WD-40 in my car anymore".

Isn't it  awful how little technical "savvy" some supposedly technical
people seem to have.  I mean had this tuner simply NO idea of the
properties of materials?  I wonder what his work would be like if he had
to replace a string - or maybe such things would be beyond him!

The idea of SPRAYING WD40 anywhere near strings fills me with horror.  For
what I did two days ago, I sprayed a tiny amount (via the thin tube) into
the cap of the WD40 can, and used my watch oiler to apply one tiny spot to
each string at its bearing.  If you've never used a watch oiler (watch
repair used to be a hobby of mine) you maybe don't realise what a minute
amout of liquid it holds.  There are simply not enough total molecules
present to really creep anywhere, and capillary action is likely to keep
what minuscule amount there is, between string and V-bar.

I do think that not having WD40 in the car at all is a bit extreme! 
Sometimes one might come across a tatty old upright with a creaky/squeaky
rusty pedal, and a pedal mechanism of very difficult access.  The proper
procedure would be dismantling, cleaning, apropriately lubricating and
re-assembling. But the cost of doing that might exceed the value of the
piano.  In that circumstance a very tiny spray of WD40 through the thin
flexible tube, strategically aimed, can offer an effective and economical
solution.

The fact that an idiot egregiously misused the stuff  doesn't mean that it
can't have a valid sensible use.  That would be like saying because
someone once ruined his car engine by pouring oil all over it, you won't
have oil anywhere near the engine......

Your experience does though open up the question of just how bad some
tuner/technicians might be...... but that's another topic!

Scott, you say, regarding lowering  string tension to cleanand/or
lubricate the V-bar,
"Paul, don't do it mate.
Unwinding strings that much will just about guarantee at least one WILL
break at the tuning pin. Not to mention the amount of time that it will
take - you may as well restring it by the time you do all that! If you're
worried, just a drop of CLP or Pro-Lube and get on with it. If they're
gonna go, they're gonna go.........."

Yes, that was my feeling.  The use of the tiny spot of WD40 for each
string was my "minimal interventionist" approach - I figured that even if
it didn't do anything to help stop strings breaking, it wouldn't do any
harm - and it MIGHT help to stop breakages in further playing/tuning (the
two strings broke in playing).

Best regards,

David