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Lubricant for metal to wood

  • 1.  Lubricant for metal to wood

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-09-2021 00:41
    Does anyone have a preferred lubricant for repetition spring regulating screws? Seems to me I've tried ProTek in the past and it wasn't so good, seemed to make the screws seize up.

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    Steven Rosenthal
    Honolulu HI
    808-521-7129
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  • 2.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-09-2021 09:37
    McLube Sailkote works well. You can find it at your local Westmarine. It is not a penetrating lubricant so only the exposed wood or metal will be lubricated. Use a small artists brush to apply.

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    Karl Roeder
    Pompano Beach FL
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  • 3.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Posted 10-10-2021 05:29
    Wow, thanks for the tip for the McLube Marine products - I'll be trying a few of them......!!!



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    Terry Farrell
    Farrell Piano Service, Inc.
    Brandon, Florida
    terry@farrellpiano.com
    813-684-3505
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  • 4.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-10-2021 08:00
    Terry, aren't you supposed to put the boat in the water BEFORE you raise the sails?  I'm guessing hauling the boat down the highway at 60 mph will be, shall we say, interesting.....   :-)

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    William Truitt
    Bridgewater NH
    603-744-2277
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  • 5.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Posted 10-10-2021 09:03
    Oh Will, don't you know that I live in FLORIDUH? We don't care how you do it up north!!!    ;-)

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    Terry Farrell
    Farrell Piano Service, Inc.
    Brandon, Florida
    terry@farrellpiano.com
    813-684-3505
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  • 6.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Posted 10-10-2021 10:10
    sigh...I just took my little baby out of the water for the season...poop

    always a bitter sweet time of the year. I don't nary use no lubricants...high tech air cooled and water cooled systems



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    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
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  • 7.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Member
    Posted 10-10-2021 12:30
    sailcote is certainly worth trying out for these rep spring screws that never seem to want to move even after using multiple drops of protek. i have tried some other products so maybe i will do some experimentation . i think it would also work well on drop screws and even on extremely tight flange screws. while i am on a roll i think it worthwhile to use on upright letoff button screws . when i was at nbss i broke off a screw flush to the rail. it was a nightmare trying to fix that bad boy even with good drill bits, easy outs . i have a west marine store here and may purchase a small can this week to try. thanks for the tip karl

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    James Kelly
    Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
    Pawleys Island SC
    843-325-4357
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  • 8.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-10-2021 13:15
    I don't see how the Sailkote would help if it doesn't penetrate. Would be a good time for me to try the CBL but I'm doing this work on Tuesday.

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    Steven Rosenthal
    Honolulu HI
    808-521-7129
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  • 9.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Member
    Posted 10-10-2021 16:11
    i think the principal reason it works is the fact it is coated on the screwthreads both top and bottom as well as the wood where the screw enters and exits. a penentrating lubricant around the sides of the screws probably never gets down the full length of the screw hole and get quickly absorbed into the wood or spreads out on the whippen . dry lube would be like putting wax on a screw. maybe karl can explain it better. the product line is used in some harsh environments it is interesting to read how the products are used and especially how it worked when tested against wd-40 its worth a test the west marine located near me is out of stock!!!

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    James Kelly
    Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
    Pawleys Island SC
    843-325-4357
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  • 10.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Posted 10-10-2021 23:03
    What about using something like Ballistol? Mix it with mineral spirits. Or possibly a tiny drop of something with silicone?

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    John Formsma, RPT
    New Albany MS

    Something just ain't right with all this.
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  • 11.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-10-2021 23:45
    I recall in the distant past someone talking about dissolving paraffin in white gas. A drop of the right cut might be a good treatment.

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    Steven Rosenthal
    Honolulu HI
    808-521-7129
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  • 12.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Posted 10-11-2021 07:11
    Wax would work prior to the screw being put into the wood. 
    Seems like what you need is something that will travel, and I don't know that the wax would get where it needs to go…unless you back out the screw so it can get on the threads.


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    John Formsma, RPT
    New Albany MS

    Something just ain't right with all this.
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  • 13.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Member
    Posted 10-11-2021 11:32
    Wax softens the wood and wood screws don't hold after a period of time. I don't know if that would be true in the small adjustment screw and there are different types of wax. In construction work you use toilet bowl wax. 
    I had a set of dampers on a Steinway M I was trying to figure out what was on the wires. It looked familiar. Ahhh, mom used it on the floors. Johnsons paste wax,,, the dampers didn't work and needed rebushing.

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    Keith Roberts
    owner
    Hathaway Pines CA
    209-770-4312
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  • 14.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-11-2021 19:13
    I forgot to mention that I used beeswax on grand back check wires before pressing them into the keysticks.

    Bob Anderson
    Tucson, AZ




  • 15.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-12-2021 11:44
    Keith,
    Paraffin or beeswax do not soften wood. Perhaps you’ve used wax with some other ingredient in it.

    Regards,
    ~ jeannie

    Jeannie Grassi
    PTG Registered Piano Technician
    Bainbridge Island, WA
    206-842-3721
    grassipianos@gmail.com




  • 16.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Posted 10-10-2021 08:18
    My grandfather was a sports-goods manufacturer of the first part of the 20th century when wood and metal were used together. He would always have a block of soap against which he'd scrape a screw before putting it into wood.

    Whether soap might be hygroscopic and cause corrosion in the long run might be another matter and perhaps technology has moved past such a humble material. This was no doubt however a practice of the 19th century and before.

    Best wishes

    David P





  • 17.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Posted 10-10-2021 08:23
    Thank you David for mentioning that. Brought back great memories of my Dad who did the same. It seemed to work well. 
    Peter 


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    Petrus Janssen
    Peachtree City GA
    678-416-8055
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  • 18.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Posted 10-10-2021 09:20
    I'm rather particular to CBL. Although Sailkote (applied top and bottom) might be readily available in your area.

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    Regards,

    Jon Page
    mailto:jonpage@comcast.net
    http://www.pianocapecod.com
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  • 19.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-11-2021 08:37
    I, too, have soaped screws before inserting. I’m beginning to wonder how old I am.

    Bob Anderson
    Tucson, AZ




  • 20.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Posted 10-11-2021 09:34
    Isn't it soapstone that is better to use?

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    Regards,

    Jon Page
    mailto:jonpage@comcast.net
    http://www.pianocapecod.com
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  • 21.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-11-2021 11:37
    Try using a zapper.  You know, the device made for trashing center pins?  Used on small action screws  (also good for drop screws) it's quick and doesn't leave a stain.  But you do have to be judicious.  Heat can also work well on large case screws that have rusted into place, applied with a heat gun with the straw-type tip.

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    Cecil Snyder
    Torrance CA
    310-542-7108
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  • 22.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-25-2021 20:15
    I have always used heat when small threads are stuck in fragile wood. A soldering iron with a small tip, held against the exposed thread for 5-8 seconds has almost always loosened the screw.  When I try to turn it, I begin with a back and forth motion until it breaks free and then keep that motion going until I can get a full 360.  After that, they seem to move easily.

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    Ed Foote RPT
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  • 23.  RE: Lubricant for metal to wood

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-26-2021 11:02
    I am likewise a proponent of heat these things. (Heat seems to reverse a lot of things 😊)

    Pwg

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    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    603-686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
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