[CAUT] install bridge pins?

[David Love]

I used to do the epoxy method but I'm not sure how much penetration you actually get on the surface and it just slows me down too much.  CA works just as well to secure the pins.  I've never really thought that the structural integrity of the bridge body was a problem and if you do think that it is then fill the old bridge pin holes after decapping with epoxy mixed with a medium to high density filler, which I tend to do lately rather than pound shoe pegs.  Anyway, when I get into bridge mode I don't like to be interrupted with cure times and such.  With epoxy after coating you need to sand back the top flat again also and if there's minimal penetration I'm not sure that you don't end up removing most of what you've just painted on.  Also, you really should let epoxy cure for a week or more before putting a finish coat over it, or so I'm told.  

So, with new bridge caps I don't stain and don't precoat with CA.  The stain is only for old bridge caps where I want to hide a bit of the residual dag staining and make it look nice and don’t want to reapply more dag or anything else like that.  On new caps I like the look of the new wood and grain though I suppose you could stain it.  It does make it a bit easier on these aging eyes.  I do burnish down the bridge top with a metal rod to try and get the top as dense as possible first before marking and drilling and notching.  I do apply thin CA around the pins after they are inserted which also gets into the notch edge where the sealing and hardening is probably most important.  I then shoot the bridge top with clear lacquer usually a satin or semi-gloss depending on how I feel that day.  

With old caps I sand, lightly burnish (but be careful when burnishing an already cut bridge top as you can create some valleys if you are too vigorous), stain and then coat the cap with CA paying special attention to the holes.  I don't put on a huge amount and don’t try and "fill" the holes necessarily.  Mostly I'm trying to reinforce around especially the top of the hole so that when I redrill there's no chipping.  That's important, epoxy or CA, if you are going to redrill old holes you have to reinforce them.  Then drill, notch, insert pins and a drop or two of CA around the base of the new pins.  Wipe off the dust and shoot with clear lacquer.

BTW on old caps if you are not going up in size with the pins (or even if you are) be careful when inserting the new pins as you will undoubtedly encounter some holes where the pins go in more easily than others and if you are not paying attention it's easy to tap them down below the level of the cap by accident (whoops).  No fun but good for that puzzled and "oh s--t" look on the face.    

I think that's about it. 

 
David Love
www.davidlovepianos.com

-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Cramer, Mark
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 7:53 AM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] install bridge pins?

Okay,

back to working with a *new* bridge cap though; stain the cap first, drill the new holes, then coat the cap with CA letting it run into the holes, then notch, pin and finish?

How much CA in the holes? Full, 1/2, or just the drips that result from flowing it over the cap?

As mentioned, we've been doing the epoxy/re-pin/re-notch for over a decade on old bridges, but only the last year or two on *new* caps. The process is pretty much the same, however I prefer to brush the epoxy into the fresh notches *and* clean/rinse it off, same as we do on the cap.

I love the finished surface left behind after the epoxy has been diluted/rinsed away. It looks sealed and *foritfied* but with no surface residue remaining.
IOW, I feel like the voids in the wood surface are filled, the wood fiber is supported, making the string-contact surface more dense, and there is now a barrier to moisture.

I gather that's the very same thing that you (and at least one *new* piano with a re-emerging brand-name ;>) are going for on your new bridge caps David?

So, on a new cap again, where you don't need to re-size the holes, and you've allowed the (thin?) CA to run into them, I'm guessing all the CA has been absorbed and we can install the pins now? 

And you will follow up with a drop to the base of each pin, same as reconditioning an old cap? 
 
I'm leaning towards trying this David. I'm also kind of addicted to seeing that healthy blob of epoxy that surfaces when you drive the pins, however, cured CA creates a significantly harder surface than epoxy, and that's likely a bonus for a bridge cap.

Thanks for your patience with all my Q's.

best regards,
Mark C. 

PS We use a long-flat-block to level the cap, reduce the string cuts and avoid hollows, kind of like the "long-board" used for auto-body. 

PPS Like Buzz, I too am kind of sentimental about flowing out a nice coat of DAG to a flawless, satiny graphite finish. Oh well.