where do the broken needles go?

[Susan Kline]

At 01:38 PM 9/14/98 +0000, you wrote:
>Wimblees@aol.com wrote:
>> 
>> Just for curiosity, when you are voicing and a needle breaks, what do
some of
>> you do with the broken needles? The ones that stick in the hammers I
pull out
>> and throw away. But sometimes they break and fall into the action. Do
some of
>> you pull an action appart to find it, or do you just leave the pieces where
>> they fall?
>> 
>> Willem Blees
>
> IMHO they're hazardous enough to merit a special trip to the waste
>basket or a pretty good search.   Wouldn't want a lawsuit from a needle
>in a rug or a sticking key if they wedge between.  Afew are still inside
>the hammer for a future tech to tear their file on.  
>-Mike Jorgensen
>

Wim, Mike, list ---

With all due respect for people who do things differently than I do, how
many needles do you guys break??

I would think that if you break more than one or two a year, you might
reconsider either your voicing techniques or your source of needles.

Confession:

I use one medium sized needle, and press it in rather than jabbing. If the
shoulders need so much softening that massive poking with many needles
seems to be called for, I soften them with other methods. I have never
broken a SINGLE needle, and I have never jabbed one into my finger or
thumb, either. Of course, (this is the embarrassing part) I haven't voiced
hundreds of pianos for for thousands of man-hours, either. ("Person-hours"?
Don't be absurd!)

I don't like dangerous procedures, or a system which leaves bits of broken
needles all over the place, which could find their way to a carpet, for a
child to step on. I remember an excellent workshop with Teri Meridyth,
where she described driving a voicing needle straight _through_ her thumb.
No thanks!!

Susan-the-cautious

Susan Kline
P.O. Box 1651
Philomath, OR 97370
skline@proaxis.com