I am not a professional piano technician, but I came across an
interesting material that others might be interested in.

Although all brands of pianos can suffer from tight center pins,
Steinways usually suffer more than others.  There is a generally
accepted theory that Steinway used some sort of "sheep tallow" as a
lubricant on their pins, and after many years, the reaction of this
material to the metal pin causes a green waxy material to form there,
causing sluggish movement of the part it is attached to.

This problem is so prevalent that Steinway Vertegrands are sometimes
referred to as Steinway "Verdigris", in honor of the green material
that forms on the surface of exposed copper.  I cannot confirm or deny
this story about "sheep tallow", and if anybody has information on it,
I would be grateful if they would write to MMD and share it with all
of us.

In any case, I recently was called upon to service one of these pianos,
and the condition was so bad that when the soft pedal rail pushed the
hammers to the strings, practically all of them stayed put or moved
back so slowly as to make playing impossible.  The story I got from
most professionals is that the only sure cure is to either re-pin and
re-bush the entire action, or just put in a new action.  Before I was
going to do anything as major as that, I was going to try some easier
remedies

There is a liquid cleaner called "Goof Off" which I bought at a local
Home Depot.  This material is sold as a graffiti remover, as well as a
solvent for a number of materials.  It has a smell similar to lighter
fluid.  Well, I put it on the center pins and then I pushed each hammer
back and forth a few times.

First I would put gentle pressure to push the hammer to one side as
I moved it back and forth, then I would apply the pressure the opposite
way.  The result was that instantly the action was perfectly free, and
I do not mean 99% free-I mean 100%.  When I told some friends about
this, they said the problem would soon recur.  I have been waiting
several weeks now, and the action is still 100% perfect.

Could I have discovered something?  If anybody out there has any
comments or questions, please send them to MMD.

Randolph Herr