[pianotech] Damper Wire Polishing

[William Monroe]

Hey Paul,

I do the same thing!  Well, OK, my version is the low-rent version.  I just cut a small rectangle of the felt and manually polish.  I think I like your idea better.  But to be clear, you put a cutting edge on the same piece that you then chuck into the drill and use to polish the pins?

William R. Monroe

  We did an experiment several years ago, polishing damper wires with three different polishes (Noxxon, Flitz, and Wenol), and under the microscope, the differences were radical. Virtually no striations with the Flitz, and more with the Wenol, and finally much more with the Noxxon. Quite visible. And we also use old hammer felt for the same purpose. Actually, if you get one of those old Schaff items, the rubber tipped thingies for "polishing tuning pins", throw away the rubber thingies, put a sharp bevel edge on the steel part that chucks into the drill (just chuck it into a drill and hold a file against the turning edge), then use the sharp edge to cut cylinders of hammer felt, drill a hole in the center, use contact cement to hold the felt in the steel, et voila, instant key pin polishing tool. Nifty. You need to get hammer tailings that allow you to drill out the cylinders from the side to get the length for the balance rail pins. And when changing out the felt, you need to clean up the cement a bit with solvent. Works like a charm.

  Paul

  In a message dated 2/9/2009 6:59:21 P.M. Central Standard Time, pianotech at a440piano.net writes:
    My wrists tend to get tired pinching cloth or scotch-brite pads over the 
    course of 60 odd damper wires, so I'm always looking for an easier way.  So, 
    I found another use for scrap hammer felt.  Just drill a small hole through 
    the scrap, add Flitz, and polish.  No squeezing, just a few glide back and 
    forth, then a wipe off - nice and shiny.  Yahoo, I'm satisfied.

    William R. Monroe
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