<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi Paul,<DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>Actually, you can eliminate the dent in the top of the rep with a cabinet scraper. Put it in a vice, give it a quick couple pulls of a sharp scraper, and that can be fast and smooth. Then spray or brush on your favorite (I'd use McLube). </DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>The spring grooves can be addressed with the wipps on the rail. First remove all springs to one side. Put a bamboo skewer through a bunch of them at a time, and clean the springs with a rag soaked in mineral spirits. Cleaning and removing the bump from the groove can be done with a variety of tools, either working from the front with a right angled tool, or from the bottom (set the action upside down and work from the cushion side) with a straight tool. The tool should be made to have an angle similar to the shape of the groove, and should be sharpened with a file to create a scraping edge. I use a real cheap screwdriver or the like - I look around the shop until I see something I can make work, with luck something I used for the process last time <G>. Then apply McLube with a small paint brush. This can go quite fast if you set things up right.</DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>Which isn't to say don't replace in preference to doing this kind of thing. It's a question of priorities, where you want to put your parts budget. If you have enough budget, and this won't rob from other projects, I would probably replace.</DIV><DIV><SPAN class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </SPAN>BTW, the gunk on the rep springs is undoubtedly graphite grease, plus dust of ages. I guess that graphite grease was pretty popular for a good while. The tech probably thought he was doing great things, not creating problems for his successors <G>.<BR><DIV> <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV>Regards,</DIV><DIV>Fred Sturm</DIV><DIV>University of New Mexico</DIV><DIV><A href="mailto:fssturm@unm.edu">fssturm@unm.edu</A></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN></SPAN> </DIV><BR><DIV><DIV>On Nov 14, 2006, at 12:27 PM, Paul T Williams wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><BR><FONT size="2" face="sans-serif">Hi List,</FONT> <BR> <BR><FONT size="2" face="sans-serif">Here's an old question from a new CAUT: When does one finally call it quits on a set of wippens? I'm working on an old Steinway M circa early thirties with the tilted capstans. I would doubt that the wippens are original, but they are definately OLD, squeeky and has substantial amounts of what Steve Brady calls "gradeau" (gunk) on the rep springs at the rep-lever contact/rubbing points. They also are "dented" in on the rep lever/knuckle contact point.</FONT> <BR> <BR><FONT size="2" face="sans-serif">Although it is only in a practice room, we don't have ooodles o dough to replace the piano. We can afford new wippens, or I can "doctor" them one more time by cleaning and lubing all those parts which would be a lot of invested time...Not much I can do about the dented rep/knuckle spot though....</FONT> <BR> <BR><FONT size="2" face="sans-serif">What do y'all think?</FONT> <BR> <BR><FONT size="2" face="sans-serif">Thanks</FONT> <BR> <BR><FONT size="2" face="sans-serif">Paul T. Williams</FONT> <BR><FONT size="2" face="sans-serif">Univ. of Nebraska</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>