[pianotech] restoration

[David Ilvedson]

picky, picky, picky... '-]

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, CA  94044

----- Original message ----------------------------------------
From: "John Delacour" <JD at Pianomaker.co.uk>
To: pianotech at ptg.org; caut at ptg.org
Received: 4/22/2010 12:58:26 AM
Subject: Re: [pianotech] restoration


>At 15:39 -0700 21/4/10, David Ilvedson wrote:

>>These YouTube videos of a Steingrabber & Sohn upright is well 
>>done...good craftsmanship.   In the 2nd one he uses 30% hydrogen 
>>peroxide in the Sun to whiten the ivories

>The prior sanding of the ivories was quite unnecessary.  The job 
>could have been done with just peroxide (the cream, as I said, is 
>more convenient and labour-saving) and the ivory polished afterwards. 
>This way you lose no thickness of ivory.  A few months ago I bleached 
>a set that was far worse than this Steingraeber without needing to do 
>any sanding.  I don't use a buffing wheel to polish the ivory either 
>since that abrades the softer "summer growth" more than the harder 
>parts and it is always detectable.  After bleaching I remove any 
>scratches with P800 - 1200 wet-n-dry and then polish with chalk and 
>alcohol on a hard block covered with white sheep leather.  It's 
>almost as quick and leaves a glass-like surface.

>I found his way of removing the chase bushings painfully slow and 
>inefficient.  All he needed to do was soak them and leave them for a 
>bit before pulling them out clean with small flat-nose pliers.  No 
>chisels (I noticed his knife was terribly blunt -- cfr. our Moroccan 
>turner's perfect chisel) no files.  His glue was also overcooked and 
>sticky.

>JD