North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Phil Norris <COUSINPHIL@ACADIA.NET>]

You're walking through the orchard and you notice reddish brown frass near the base of a tree.  You scootch down on your side and get your face near the trunk and, sure enough, the borers are at it again.  You reach for your pocket knife and start to carve away but the knife isn't really the best tool.

When I first started tuning pianos 20 years ago I never guessed how many uses there would be for piano wire.  Piano wire comes in numbered sizes from #12, thin as a paperclip, to #24, strong enough to suspend a piano, and is very stiff regardless of diameter.  From experience, I have determined that #18 makes the best borer tool.  

The borers seem to travel up and down the cavity they create, enlarging it as they go.  I usually find the little culprits at the side of the cavity tight up against the healthy bark.  I run the wire around and around and often find the little white worm impaled on my wire.

I have odd ends of piano wire left over from stringing jobs and would like to offer my custom-made, pocket-siszed, piano wire borer tool to anyone who wants one.  Send me a stamped self-addressed envelope and I'll get one off to you.

Phil Norris
Blue Hill Piano Service
East Blue Hill ME 04629