[pianotech] Expanding leads

[David Love]

Wim:

 

Yes, there does seem to be a humidity factor and I was wondering about how
that might trigger a bad batch of lead.  At least the ones I've encountered
did have exposure to high humidity, this one included.  My concern with just
trimming them is that others that I've seen have expanded such that the keys
were splitting.  If that happens on this piano with ivory on it , or in the
underlevers then the cost of repair could skyrocket.  We will opt to replace
everything and reweigh the keyset at the same go.  Of course, the value of
the piano, in this case, does warrant it.

 

Aloha.  

 

David Love

www.davidlovepianos.com

 

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of tnrwim at aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2013 1:52 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Expanding leads

 

David

 

Good to meet you at the Westpac. It's always good to put a face with a name

 

In the 28 years when I was in St. Louis and Alabama, I ran across one piano
with expanding leads. Now that I am here in Hawaii, I have had at least 40
pianos with expanding leads. So I am presuming that a lot of humidity has
something to do with it. But I have talked with the other techs here, and
none of us seem to know exactly why it is happening, especially since all
the leads don't all corrode on the same piano. I've had Sohmers, Yamahas,
Kimballs, Baldwins, and even a few Steinways with this problem. But, again,
there might be 40 - 50 keys in one set that are expanding, but not all of
them. So it's not necessarily the compound of the lead, since it is presumed
that the leads used in one piano all came out of the same batch.  

 

 When I first got here, I was advised to chisel the leads down to the sides
of the key, and spraying them with Shellac. But after a few years, those
leads expanded again. So now I give the customer the option of replacing the
leads or drilling them down. So far none of my customers have opted for the
replacement process, mainly because the pianos do not justify the cost
involved. What I am doing now is using a forstner bit to drill the leads
down below the surface of the key about 1/16" and then spraying the lead
with Shellac. The cost of doing that is about half of a new set. I know this
is not a permanent solution, and it does change the touch weight on the keys
a little, but as I tell the customer it will be 15 - 20 years before the
leads expand to where they touch each other again, and by that time, it's
not my problem any more. And most customers agree that it won't be their
problem, either.  

 

But on your Bosey, the cost of replacing, and weighing, is definitely worth
it. 

 

Wim

-----Original Message-----
From: David Love <davidlovepianos at comcast.net>
To: pianotech <pianotech at googlegroups.com>
Cc: pianotech <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Tue, Mar 12, 2013 10:27 am
Subject: [pianotech] Expanding leads

While I have run into expanding lead problems periodically generally they
seem 
to have been reserved for "lesser" pianos.  Today I found a 1950's
Boesendorfer 
200 with leads expanding both in the back action and the keys to the extent
that 
they were binding on their neighbors and on the verge of splitting things.
Of 
course I will have to remove and replace, a large task considering the new 
weigh-off at the key end that will be required.
 
My question is what is it that causes that reaction and why after such a
time 
does it happen.  This is some 60 years later. 
 
 
David Love
www.davidlovepianos.com
 
 
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