[CAUT] dealing with humidity (was Re: pre-stretching new string?)

[Ron Nossaman]

> Hi Ron,
> When you say epoxy or CA saturation, what do you mean in terms of method 
> used to saturate? Are these methods one could use on an existing bridge 
> in a piano?
> 
> Regards,
> Fred Sturm

Existing bridges in pianos is what I've done this on forever 
(though I drive pins in new bridges with epoxy too). First, I 
always pull the old pins, drill the holes deep enough that the 
new pin won't bottom out (and size the holes to replace #6 
with #7 if they'll fit), and clean up the notches and bridge 
top. A disposable hypodermic syringe, without needle, to put a 
dab of epoxy in each hole, and drive in the new pins to finish 
height. No, I don't bottom them, no, there is no acoustical 
detriment to not bottoming them that I can detect, and no, I 
don't file them. Then, depending on how it looks, how the pins 
felt going in, or if I just don't feel lucky, I'll brush on 
some epoxy around the pins and heat it in with a heat gun or 
even a hair dryer. Dry brush mop up the overflow, and a spray 
coat of McLube to knock the gloss off the epoxy after it's 
cured. Done.

If you're not replacing pins (*not* recommended) a top coat of 
epoxy around the pins, heated in until it won't take more, dry 
brush cleanup, and McLube. Or thin CA, goobered on around the 
pins until it won't absorb more, mop up with rags, and McLube. 
No accelerator.

The McLube is strictly to cut the gloss and make the thing 
look neater than you actually left it. It offers no 
lubrication benefit.

This will get you the best termination with the least effort 
of anything I've found, and does indeed seem to improve tuning 
stability.

Ron N