Piano Repair For Sticking Keys 

Is your alcohol and water mixture 50-50? There was corrosion in this action and also it had been treated prior to me coming. For me, re-pinning it was the best option and one that I could guarantee. I'm still curious as to how you use the alcohol and water treatment. Do you use denatured alcohol or rubbing alcohol? Do you let it dry naturally or do you use a dryer? Thanks for sharing have a great day.

Kurt Weissman Hello, it is an old time used official Renner method, and the way their pinning are or where adjusted, after a mechanical burnishing of the cloth; ALlcool isopropyl is what they use, as I do, but probably other can do the job, the principle is that more alcool make the water penetrate more in the wood, for grand flanges 5% alcool, for vertical parts 30% but tests are necessary, On a chinese action, totally stuck, I did success with 30% alcool 3 times, Every application is left to dry for 8 hours, using a hair drier is way too effective and the center then can be too free Now if CLP have been used , the cloth will react differently, so the best is to make tests, eventually drying with a hair dryer knowing that you need to wait even after that, simply 2 hours for instance, distilled water is probably better but I was told it is not important Renner sells some sort of felt pens with 2 different mixes one for 2 4 gr the other for 4 6 grams if memory serves? Just alcool and water in the end, A siringue is necesay so to put the product on the cloth, no need to moisten too much the wood (while Renner moisten the whole flange before it is machine pinned) DIfferent wood and different cloth will act differently, I have a little knowledge on how to do with Renner parts, but for others I need to test Indeed one need to examine some centers before decision FOr complete repinning, I switched back to the old "long centers" , from the times the short versions where not available? DOne with them, and using a gig to maintain the parts, the centering is very efficient, stable and similar from flange to flange QUick and easy for the european vertical hammer flanges (no birdseye) with birdseye, a little effort to pull the wire , but it is not that hard, and the friction burnish the cloth nicely, (I was told to "lube" it by passing the wire in my hair ! AN important point is to keep the orientation of the center, if they where machine pinned you know the insertion orientation, then keep it while burnishing and inserting the new center, If not chances are that one side will be stiffer than the other as the cloth do not stay well oriented then I like those long centers anyway for recent parts , when the wood do not need to be enlarged (the wood is yet supple enough) There is an old movie on the Steinway factory in 1930 where you can see the workers pinning repetitions, with that sort of gig, IF I ask ABel to rebush and re center flanges they use those "fil de centre" (sold by Renner or Jurgen Goering in USA, most providers in EUrope) Pinning is done a little stiffer than the expected resistance, as it free by itself when the part move? Not too much of course, may be 1 2 grams, ALso taking in account the hygrometry when doing the job, Best regards

Isaac OLEG I think the result is stable, when done on Renner parts, as the cloth is cashmere, the alcohol is astringent and the cloth shrink somehow, the wood compress and the part is adjusted (2 actions in the end, and the part is stuck for a more or less long time so there is quite a compression happening) WIth other cloths, testing is necessary (for instance Kaway use a mixed fabrics that may not react much with alcohol)

Isaac OLEG Lately I gained about 2 grams on the hammer flanges of a 1980 STeinway that was just a little too stiff, I used 15% alcohol, it worked, I am cautious generally not to overdo, I was said later that I could have used 30% from the start

1980, not 1880, so the centers where not used. But I have seen on old French Pleyel, centers that had 100 years of use without any lube. they where just perfect, no real wear, holding tight, good minimal friction. they where a little thinner than the one used today, and I suppose the cashmere was first grade.