[CAUT] Steinway verdigris

[David Love]

Actually there is a pile in the archives but I've never seen and never
really tried alternative CP materials.  The consensus (with which I so far
concur) is that nothing works.  Clearly the best solution is to change the
parts but I'm open to other options if it turns out there are any.  

David Love
www.davidlovepianos.com

-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Horace
Greeley
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2011 4:05 PM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Steinway verdigris


Hi,

This has been such a problem for so long that I'm 
kind of surprised that there isn't quite a pile 
of threads on it in the archives.

Anyway - simply replacing the verdigris-infested 
parts has been the option of choice for well over 
three decades.  For a long time, the problem with 
doing so was that the factory parts were so 
variable in quality and dimension that they 
weren't necessarily an improvement and most of us 
who have been doing this for a while simply had 
to use other parts that worked...sort of.  While 
it definitely wasn't optimum in any sense, that 
solution bypassed all of the perniciously 
repetitious problems that went along with trying to rework the older parts.

This is one area in which I think that we are 
incredibly fortunate today that there are so many 
alternatives for dealing with so many of the 
problems that used to be major problems for 
rebuilders.  There is almost an embarrassment of 
riches in terms of quality parts, hammers, and 
strings out there; to say nothing of very high 
quality boards and blocks.  It's a double-bind, 
in a way, because it raises to new importance 
questions around whether or not we really are 
artisans and technicians or simply new parts installers.

Best.

Horace


At 02:56 PM 1/10/2011, you wrote:
>I wonder why not a heavy plastic.
>
>Greg Newell
>Greg's Piano Forté
>www.gregspianoforte.com
>216-226-3791 (office)
>216-470-8634 (mobile)
>
>From: caut-bounces at ptg.org 
>[mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of David Love
>Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2011 10:51 PM
>To: caut at ptg.org
>Subject: Re: [CAUT] Steinway verdigris
>
>Maybe it' time for anodized aluminum center 
>pins. Anyway, the question still stands, if you 
>repinned with a non reactive material could you 
>solve the problem without changing parts and 
>what would that material likely be?
>
>
>
>David Love
>www.davidlovepianos.com
>
>----------
>From: Susan Kline <skline at peak.org>
>Sender: caut-bounces at ptg.org
>Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2011 17:21:48 -0800
>To: <caut at ptg.org>
>ReplyTo: caut at ptg.org
>Subject: Re: [CAUT] Steinway verdigris
>
>On 1/9/2011 3:02 PM, David Love wrote:
>But are they 60% copper at the point of contact?
>
>I assumed that the center pins are solid nickel 
>silver and not plated -- but these days, I'm 
>learning not to depend too much on the accuracy of my assumptions.
>
>Susan