At 4:16 pm -0500 20/6/07, paul bruesch wrote: >But wouldn't it be better to use something besides graphite?? I'm >kinda new here, but I've been told (and read it here) not to use >graphite, period. (or as the say across the pond, full stop.) Or >are there circumstances where it's acceptable?? When it is properly burnished graphite on wood provides a pretty durable and very slippery surface for wood where it meets buckskin or cloth; otherwise action makers would not have continued so long with its use on jacks and repetition levers, where in the right environment it is still good after 70 or more years. It is also very easy to maintain and reburnish, with or without the addition of more graphite. As a lubricant for metal against wood, especially in the case of a spring pressing against a groove, as in the case of the old-fashioned Steinway type repetition lever,certain upright damper springs etc, I don't think graphite is the best thing. For this sort of contact I use a mixture of wax and tallow, making sure, as the quotation from Reblitz describes, to clean out the groove with a pointed maple stick and make sure there are no humps and bumps in it. The most important thing is to make sure the wood is properly burnished, whatever method is used to reduce friction. JD
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