Glues/Bridges, etc.

[Joseph Garrett]

List,
After a private post admonishing a poster who recommended white glue and CA,
he challenged me to write something about glues. So, here it is, (albeit,
bias from 28 years of rebuilding and undoing someone else's messes).
    The best way to approach this dilemma is to ask yourself: "Will this
last?" "Will this be repairable in the future?" My approach is this: "If you
NEVER  want it to come apart again, use Titebond on wood. If you will need
to repair, replace or move the part, some day, use Hide Glue.
    The PREFERRED AND RECOMMENDED glue for all action work is Hot Hide Glue.
The reasons are simple. Easy to undo. Ease of working with, (once you get
the hang of it). Low cost.
    The second preferred glue, if hot hide glue is not feasible, or
available, (such as out in the field), is Cold Hide Glue. I have been using
it for all of those 28 years and have not had a failure yet! However, there
is a trick to it. If I am gluing a hammer, or action part, with it, I go to
the kitchen sink/customer and get a mug of VERY hot water. I place the small
container of cold hide glue in it and then proceed to prepare the repair
parts for gluing. Once the cold hide glue is hot, I proceed as usuall of any
glue. The heating makes the glue set faster.
    The third preferred glue is Titebond. (NOT ELMERS!)  This is used to
repair broken wooden parts. Enough said there.
    The fourth glue is used for temporary repairs, etc. on clunkers and
special glue jobs. It is "Aleenes original Tacky Glue". This glue is great
for replacing an occasional damper felt, regluing leather in trapwork and
cosmetic felt replacement.
I also use it to glue the understringing felt on the plate, before
stringing, etc. This glue is very thick and acts a lot like contact cement.
Dries clear and is easy to remove if a mistake is made
     The fifth glue is Contact Cement. (The stinky one, that many prefer not
to use because it is not good to breath!) This glue is used to install
leather or felt in high use areas, such as contact points between springs
and levers. Also, it's my glue of choice for keytop replacement. There is a
downside to this use, as I have found that after 15-20 years, the glue
breaks down and the keytops come off! DO NOT USE THE WATER BASED CONTACT
CEMENT! Water based contact cement breaks down faster and doesn't stick very
well, anyway.
    The sixth, (and final), glue is Weldwood Plastic Resin Glue. This glue
has been around since WWII and is the glue of choice for plugging bridge pin
holes with dowel/shoe pegs, etc. and for gluing on new bridge caps. I also
use it for gluing maple stock on "stepped" pinblocks, etc. This glue is the
very best for these applications, as it dries absolutely hard, will not foul
drill bits, sands very well and takes a long time to set, so that alignment
problems are nonextistant. I first used this glue to put my hydroplane boats
together, back in the 50's and 60's. (During my dare-devil days:-)) Have
NEVER had a failure with this glue!
    Well gang, there it is, for what it's worth. You'll notice that NOWHERE
do I mention CA glue! I've done research on that damn stuff and have found
that, #1 it loses it bonding with time, and #2 it's a pain to work with!
(Stinks Too!) I will say that it does have it's place in one application:
One of our members took a trip to Africa, on a missionary trip/piano tuning
junket. He encountered an upright, (junker), in a village, (only piano
there), that had EXTREMELY LOOSE TUNING PINS. (that should read 0 torque!)
He double doused the pins/pin block with CA  and it WORKED! He came back a
year later and the piano was still ok. How long this repair will continue to
function is anyone's guess, but I did the job and put another "beater" back
into needed service.
    If any of you have questions about glues, please feel free to contact
me. Also, Del did an excellant article in the PTJ several years ago.
regards,
Joe Garrett, R.P.T. (Oregon)