<html xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)"> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PersonName"/>  <style>  </style> </head> <body lang=FR link=blue vlink=purple> <div class=Section1> Hi Isaac,<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> That makes sense. Last year i’ve been cleaning about fifty old uprights for the museum where I work and a lot of these had the felt eaten by moths.<o:p></o:p> I didn’t notice if the pianos with cedar shanks were less or not contaminated, but I’ll look for this in the next pianos that i’ll have to clean. 30 uprights and about 60 squares to come !!) What i’ve noticed is that the pianos with a lot of broken shanks are often these with cedar shanks.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Pierre <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> -----Message d'origine----- De : pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] De la part de Isaac Sadigursky Envoyé : dimanche 20 août 2006 23:53 À : '<st1:PersonName w:st="on">Pianotech List</st1:PersonName>' Objet : RE: Brash Failure / cedar shanks <o:p> </o:p> Hi,Pierre! The rumors I had heard in the classes are that Cedar is a<o:p></o:p> natural moth fighter. The proof of that is:drawers in the old furniture<o:p></o:p> dressers are made from cedar.Cedar shavings are available at the hardware<o:p></o:p> stores in packages to fight moth in the closets.Things had changed since<o:p></o:p> 1936 introduction of chemicals injected in the felts to fight the moth<o:p></o:p> infestation in pianos.Just my 2 kopeks of info.. Regards... Isaac<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> -----Original Message-----<o:p></o:p> From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf<o:p></o:p> Of Ron Nossaman<o:p></o:p> Sent: Sunday, August 20, 2006 9:10 AM<o:p></o:p> To: <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Pianotech List</st1:PersonName><o:p></o:p> Subject: Re: Brash Failure / cedar shanks<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> > I suppose one of the reasons cedar was used for shanks in older pianos <o:p></o:p> > was for a question of weight ?<o:p></o:p> > <o:p></o:p> > Pierre<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> That makes sense. And they didn't expect the pianos to last <o:p></o:p> longer than cedar shingled roofs (20-30 years), so it probably <o:p></o:p> wasn't an unreasonable choice in that context. It's only since <o:p></o:p> the cheap, disposable 1950s (when anything old was considered <o:p></o:p> trash) that we're left with very little from that time <o:p></o:p> (because so much of what was produced in the 50s WAS trash), <o:p></o:p> that the surviving old stuff has taken on the mystic glow of <o:p></o:p> presumed immortality that the manufacturer never intended.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Speculation, I know.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Ron N<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> </div> </body> </html>