thanks, Horace. I hadn't thought that it might make a difference which carrier I used. I had used lacquer thinner with the lacquer to begin with, but acetone to do the flushing. I remember now hearing your idea of using an ice tray under the hammers before - although it seems like that might make it harder to avoid slopping the stuff around, and might make the process even smellier? But I guess that wouldn't matter so much if ventilation were sufficient. I had wondered while I did it if some compressed air in the equation might make a difference. Thanks for that thought, as well. Hopefully this is not something I'll be doing very often. But it's nice to know now that this fallback option exists! Best regards, Allen On Thursday, August 26, 2004, at 01:21 AM, Horace Greeley wrote: > > Allen, > > Not an uncommon problem, unfortunately. The biggest issue is, if > "you" did not do the hardening "yourself", knowing what was used to do > it. In this case, it sounds like you had thinned the lacquer with > acetone (which works, of course), and so knew what to use. Sometimes > you just have to guess. For me, this guessing has usually been based > on examination of the hammers to see what kind of discoloration (if > any) there might be...then, try to experiment a bit to see if one > carrier will work better than another. > > Another trick, especially useful in the shop, is to pop the stack off > the keyframe and set it (effectively) upside down, so that the tails > of the hammers can rest easily into the aluminum/steel trays (I > usually use old fashioned ice cube trays). Then the hammers can be > pretty well flooded with whatever carrier seems best. A nice, big fan > is very useful... > > Additionally, if you figure out that you are working with a hammer set > that has been bunged up by overzealous use of keytop, you can flood > the hammers (probably several times) with acetone, covering them with > aluminum foil in between. After (usually) three applications with a > few hours in between each one, you can try blowing out the hardener > from the crown down - using your OSHA-safe air nozzle, of course... > > Your note as to the hardener presumably staying in the shoulders > (unless otherwise forced out) is accurate; and needs to be remembered > for future voicing reference - something that is easy to forget over > time. If I have to go through this much trouble to begin with, I > really want to get just as much of the "original" stuff out before > doing anything else. Then, if possible, I really like to hear the > instrument with whatever is left of the hammers to get a sense of what > the voicing is like. That helps to determine what to do, how far to > go, etc. > > This method, while time consuming in a certain way, can usually save a > set of hammers (if it has not otherwise been too > damaged...shaping/etc). You have to be very careful to be sure that > whatever carrier you have used to flush out the existing hardener is > thoroughly evaporated before doing any shaping as if wet, the hammers > will simply shred. > > Anyway, it sounds as if you have recovered in fine style. Bravo! > > Best. > > Horace > > > > > At 08:35 PM 8/25/2004, you wrote: >> Colleagues, >> >> I'm not certain this ideahas been discussed on the list, but I seem >> to remember that it has, else it might not have occurred to me as a >> serious option. I pass it on in case it might be useful for others in >> a similar situation. >> >> I voiced a 7 year old Baldwin L for a store. A church was interested >> in buying it, but wanted it voiced up - particularly the entire bass >> section, which was very noticeably quieter and with a different tone >> than the rest. >> >> Some light keytop solution on some notes brought up the treble end >> nicely to match the middle, but I felt that the bass needed a bigger >> boost, so in the shop I gave it a 4 : 1 hit with lacquer. The >> majority of my lacquering experience has been with Steinways (lots of >> them), and this 4 : 1 solution probably would've been about perfect >> for that. But I'm steadily realizing that Baldwin hammers react more >> testily to hardeners. The bass was way louder than I intended when I >> got it back in. Mild panic set in, as needling obviously wasn't >> curing the problem. >> >> I thought about steaming, or perhaps using the Pianotek hammer >> softener, but didn't have either in the car. So I decided to try >> flushing out some of the lacquer with acetone. On with the fume mask >> and out to the back porch with a nice breeze blowing: I forcefully >> squirted a good half bottle of acetone down onto each hammer, with >> the overflow going through my funnel into another bottle. >> >> When they dried, I could feel that they were obviously softer. When I >> put the action back in the piano the next day the tone was right >> where I had intended it to be, with the bass perhaps even slightly >> softer than the mid-section now. >> >> I imagine the lacquer in the strike point area tends to be flushed >> down into the shoulders, with more remaining there than in the top. >> Which is probably not a bad scenario. >> >> It had been an act of skeptical semi-desperation, but it worked >> perfectly. The phrase "snatching victory from the jaws of defeat" ran >> through my head as I drove home in great relief. >> >> Oh, and the bottle of acetone I used is now slightly yellow with the >> lacquer that it pulled out. It's probably more like the ratio I >> should have used to start with! I'll save it for some future job >> involving a light hardener solution. >> >> For what it's worth, >> >> Allen Wright, RPT >> NKU, Xavier University >> Cincinnati >> >> _______________________________________________ >> caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > > _______________________________________________ > caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives >
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