Heat Gun

[Tom Servinsky]

Dave,
The issue of using a heat gun with reducing the affects of verdi gris  has 
been talked about extensively on this list. I learned this trick many years 
ago and it has consistently been an excellent Band-Aid approach to get 
things working quickly. It also buys more time for the customer before a 
total action restoration can be done.
It just a matter of taking the heat gun to the flanges ( while on the action 
stack) and heat them. Keep the gun moving so to avoid any scorching of the 
wood. I usually do one section at a time and it takes about 10 very slow 
passes before you'll start to notice a blue/grey plume of smoke start to 
arise from the parts. Continue going back and forth for about an additional 
minute and then move onto the next section.
I'm not 100% sure what exactly is in the flange that has the low tolerance 
to heat. I've heard some say that the flanges were soaked in whale oil or 
something like that, others have said it's from mutton tallow ( not sure of 
the spelling) which is the natural grease from the sheep's wool, and others 
have other stories which have been passed onto them.
Whatever the solution is, it has a low tolerance to heat. The heat gun can 
quickly burn the material  and release the center pin from the felt with 
dramatic results. A healthy dose of Protek center pin lube after the heat 
process will result in  pretty decent, playable action for about a year. At 
least that's what I have notice here in S. Florida with extremely high humid 
conditions. Maybe your part of the world might yield longer results.
 Since the whole process takes less than 5 mins to do, I  repeat the process 
at each yearly tuning. Again, this is not a cure-all but a way of delaying 
the inevitable of having to replacing the entire action.
Tom Servinsky
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Chadwick" <chadwick61 at cox.net>
To: "Pianotech List" <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:43 AM
Subject: Re: Heat Gun


> Tom,
> In what way do you use the heat gun to treat the verdigris. Is it just the 
> dry heat from the gun that helps to loosen the grip on the flange pin or 
> do you use a chemical treatment in conjunction with the heat to solve (I'm 
> sure temporarily) the movement issues. I have a similar issue with 
> verdigris that I'm tackling soon and my client wants a full range of 
> repair choices from the cheap to complete. By the way, I've used all 
> brands of tools in field construction projects and I will always by 
> Milwaukee Tools. Except for a drill that needs some repair from being 
> driven over by a dump truck I have all the tools I have ever bought from 
> the 1970's and on. Thanks in advance for your reply!
>
> David C.
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Tom Servinsky" <tompiano at bellsouth.net>
> To: <ilvey at sbcglobal.net>; "Pianotech List" <pianotech at ptg.org>
> Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 2:56 AM
> Subject: Re: Heat Gun
>
>
>> I'm in S. Florida and my Milwaukee heat gun is used regularly  for a 
>> variety of  humidity related action issues. I also use it for Verdi gris 
>> treatments with all of the older Steinway's I have in my area. And then 
>> there's the burning of shanks with the action installations. My gun is 
>> used a lot ,and as I had said, other brands I had been using were burning 
>> up way too soon. Yes mine is noticeably much heavier than the other guns 
>> I've own, but the dependability has been outstanding. It's like anything 
>> else, if it's a tool you'll need every blue moon, a professional grade 
>> tool might be over-kill. However if it's something that's going to be 
>> given a true workout, then the heavy duty grade should be your choice. I 
>> became a fan of the Milwaukee line of heavy duty tools when I was going 
>> through heavy duty drills when taking out tuning pins prior to 
>> restringing. I was getting, maybe, a year a most out of some the lesser 
>> brand drills before they hit the dust.  My brother-in-law, is a fine 
>> finish carpenter, gave me an ear full about which brands hold up over 
>> time and which ones would likely not. He told me to buy the Milwaukee 
>> heavy duty drill  and it would be the last drill I would need for ages. 
>> And he was right. When it was time for dealing with the heat gun issues 
>> it became a logical choice to consider the Milwaukee strictly on it's 
>> reputation for dependability. It too has proven it's weight in gold.
>> Tom Servinsky
>> Tom Servinsky
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "David Ilvedson" <ilvey at sbcglobal.net>
>> To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 2:28 AM
>> Subject: Re: Heat Gun
>>
>>
>>> One is much heavier than the other...I guess I'm just not using my Ungar 
>>> enough...;-]   When I think about it I only use for burning shanks...Tom 
>>> what do you use yours for?
>>>
>>> David Ilvedson, RPT
>>> Pacifica, CA  94044
>>>
>>> ----- Original message ----------------------------------------
>>> From: "Tom Servinsky" <tompiano at bellsouth.net>
>>> To: "Pianotech List" <pianotech at ptg.org>
>>> Received: 4/30/2008 12:27:53 AM
>>> Subject: Re: Heat Gun
>>>
>>>
>>>>Matthew
>>>>One has a metal case, the other a cheap plastic case. One will last 
>>>>considerably
>>>>longer then the later. I personally am a Milwaukee heat gun fan as each 
>>>>of mine
>>>>have been going strong for 8 yrs. Before that I was going through the 
>>>>cheapies one
>>>>a year. Do the math...
>>>>Tom Servinsky
>>>>  ----- Original Message ----- 
>>>>  From: Matthew Todd
>>>>  To: pianotech at ptg.org
>>>>  Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 9:47 PM
>>>>  Subject: Heat Gun
>>>
>>>
>>>>  In the newest Schaff catalog on p. 77, can someone tell me the 
>>>> difference
>>>>between the $155.93 Weller Heat Gun and the $63.99 Ungar Heat Gun?  I'm 
>>>>just
>>>>wondering why the almost $100 difference.
>>>
>>>>  I am trying not to go with cheap, and sometimes by paying more you get 
>>>> a better
>>>>advantage, but I just want to know if the Weller Gun is worth the money.
>>>
>>>
>>>>  Thanks all,
>>>>  Matthew
>>>
>>
>>
>>
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