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Hello Barbara,<br>
The piano is still in my shop and I observe no problems with the
pining, treated as described, that can be attributed to the CA use.
It was done about six or so months ago. This was not a truly
organized study of cause and effect, but, rather a quick decision to
try to overcome a frustrating problem chronically recurring which was
the persistent loosening of the pining. <br>
If you were to use a mixture so insufficiently thin as to cement
the bushing together and to the wood also, perhaps there would be some
difficulty removing the bushing. Personally, I doubt this as all one
would have to do is use the debonder or acetone. The great advantage,
to me, of using this, if it has a lasting permanent effect absent
problems, which I think it does, is that one can apply the mixture, as
I said in the post, either with the pin in place or removed and still,
within a few minutes or so reinstall the shank on the rail, play it and
hear an immediate difference, attributable mostly to lessened wobble.
Months later, the swing test of pining is within an acceptable range on
those treated. <br>
I also tried, on a few, where the pin had been removed, the use of
the accelerator and, also, the use of a water-based Teflon spray as an
accelerator. I can't speak to the differential results of this just
yet. I will be curious to hear of the results you obtain, should you
try it. <br>
Also, although I have in a number of postings here indicated my
opinion of the essential uselessness of hammers needing artificial
hardeners, a controversial enough opinion but one, nevertheless
honestly expressed, I have, on a very few occasions used a similar
mixture of thinned CA to harden the last couple of hammers in the
treble and a few elsewhere at times, by injecting the mixture directly
under the crown just above the tip of the molding in the high treble
and placing it in a similar location but avoiding wetting the
underfelt elsewhere. One then acquires the characteristic hardened
sound which can then by needling be blended in. This, then, led me to
try it with pining problems. <br>
Regards, Robin Hufford <br>
<br>
Barbara Richmond wrote:<br>
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<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Wow, Robin, this is something! </font></div>
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<div><font face="Arial" size="2">How long ago did you do this? If
there was a need to remove the bushings, would the CA make them any
more difficult to remove? (I just have to ask.)</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Thanks so much for sharing your
experiment! Yes, I think I'll give it a try--as you said, I have
nothing to lose. </font></div>
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<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Barbara Richmond</font></div>
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<div
style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size-adjust: none;">-----
Original Message ----- </div>
<div
style="background: rgb(228, 228, 228) none repeat scroll 0%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size-adjust: none;"><b>From:</b>
<a title="hufford1@airmail.net" href="mailto:hufford1@airmail.net">Robin
Hufford</a> </div>
<div
style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size-adjust: none;"><b>To:</b>
<a title="pianotech@ptg.org" href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</a>
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<div
style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size-adjust: none;"><b>Sent:</b>
Monday, December 06, 2004 1:31 AM</div>
<div
style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size-adjust: none;"><b>Subject:</b>
Re: Rebushing centers</div>
<div><br>
</div>
Hello Barbara,<br>
I think it is vital to properly shrink and stabilize the bushings
after installation. Otherwise, you will be where you are now with the
inadequate Steinway parts (something ridiculous and telling in itself
for a company in business doing this for 150 years,) you refer to in
recent posts, that is, the friction will not be stable and the hammer
will also wobble causing a loss of power. <br>
I have used shrinking fluid combinations with proportions ranging
from 50/50 to 75/25 or so, water and methyl alcohol and had good
results. Although, I have had, on occasion, a need to do some over, as
some were still, after drying, loose. These were then rendered
acceptable after another treatment. <br>
An interesting new possibility, which had occurred to me one day
as I was waiting for a conventionally treated set to dry and is, as far
as I can tell, a completely new technique since I have not seen it
referred to anywhere or heard any discussion about it elsewhere, I
decided to try on a set of Tokiwa shanks which had a very soft,
unstable bushing that responded to pining exactly as you describe with
the Steinway, is, perhaps, better. <br>
This method uses water thin CA glue thinned even further to
about about a 90/10 acetone/glue mix. It occurs to me now, as I write
this, that it may work better if a little methyl alcohol is added as a
wetting agent, if possible, although I haven't done this. There may be
complications if alcohol is used which I am unaware of at the moment. <br>
As you know, of course, the CA rapidly sets and this
characteristic obviates the need for the prolonged drying necessary
when using water. One can vary the mixture as desired to control its
effects, but if too much CA is used it will make the bushing so hard
that it will click and this defeats the purpose of its use. Too
little and there is not enough stability induced in the bushing. <br>
On the piano I tried this on I have had very good results; the
pining is stable and there was a noticeable increase in power. I tried
at first to apply it simply by dripping the mixture onto the bushing:
this does have an effect, but, eventually, I removed the pining, wetted
the bushing and then reinstalled a pin. Perhaps, as I indicated
above, a wetting agent like methyl alcohol will make it possible to do
this without even removing the pining. All of the flanges on this
piano had already been repinned, some twice or even three times. They
had progressively loosened as you described earlier. <br>
Judging from your recent posts you are considering rebushing the
inadequate Steinway shanks you have referred to. I would try this
technique before rebushing were this problem one I had to solve. I
think, once resigned to rebushing, you have nothing to lose. <br>
Regards, Robin Hufford <br>
<br>
Barbara Richmond wrote:<br>
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<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Here's a question for you who
rebuild action parts:</font></div>
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<div><font face="Arial" size="2">I've rebushed flanges before,
you know, one here or there, but have never done a whole set.</font></div>
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<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Are there any secrets besides
just plain old rebushing? For example, do you shrink the bushings
after you've put them in?</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Thanks,</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Barbara Richmond, RPT</font></div>
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