Juice (was M&H Q's)

[Susan Kline]

At 09:38 PM 07/29/2000 +1000, Mark wrote:
>Hi Susan,
>
>I'm intrigued by the shellac idea... I too hate the thought of really 
>toxic stuff invading my kit, let alone someone's piano/home. Great post!!

Thanks! Give it a try, in a non-crucial situation, and tell me what you think.


>A quick question, in my own trials of alcohol/water (Vodka) voicing I 
>found that the hammers changed shape...beyond what I was comfortable with 
>or was happy with, any time saving was absorbed by the need to reshape the 
>hammers. I found steaming to be far less destructive, but I haven't played 
>with steam long enough to get constistent results.

I think that the amount of vodka used will be critical. It was easy, when I 
used it, to put on too much, and get the shoulders too fluffy. I find that 
steaming also reshapes the felt, so I need to file afterwards. With very 
hard (Samick grand) hammers, the steam raised little ridges at the end of 
the cut marks, where the felt had been compressed but not yet worn away, as 
it was in the center. These little wads had to be filed away.

I suppose it depends on what sort of hammer one is treating, and on the 
amount of wear it has.


>Practice will be the solution of course...Roger J. will agree I'm sure!

You're right there! However, Roger, the "closet steamer" has had a lot of 
experience, but I'm quite new to vodka for voicing. (Or "steam in a bottle" 
as I call it.) I'm hoping that by spreading the word around, others will 
try it and we can shorten the learning curve.

I suspect that for a lot of situations where the hammers are _sort-of_ 
hard, the right amount of vodka will be one or two drops, but only time 
will tell.


>Cheers
>Mark Bolsius
>Canberra Australia

And to you. Amazing, who would have thought a few years ago that we would 
be trading info across the international date line?

Susan