These rails are not that difficult to repair. Are you rebuilding this action or is this just a repair? The action is assembled with solder joints, NOT welds. The solder melts at relatively low temperatures. They are soldered together at the factory after the core dowel is already in place so by heating it you are not doing anything that wasn't already done when it was put together. If you use a blow torch with a relatively focused flame tip you can heat the joint quickly, melt the solder, and then get it cooled down again before any significant burning occurs to the wood. Remember that the placement of the rail must be precise so use what ever bracing you need to maintain it's position. If you heat it only minimal it may not move anyway. Use soldering flux to insure that it sticks and does so quickly. Enough is enough don't over do it, just get the joint solid again and stop. Apply a heat sink to the rail surrounding the wood an inch or so from the joint to help keep the rest of the rail from heating up. A small spring clamp should to do the trick. Good luck! Rob Goodale, RPT Las Vegas, NV Jon Page wrote: > Has anyone had luck with epoxy rather than welding these back in place? > > It seems to me that packing the void with a paste epoxy, let cure and then > secure it with a screw from the back of the bracket through the rail and into > the other side of the bracket. > > The bass hammer rail was extremely flexible. I installed a brace between > the hammer rail and letoff rail (jpg available).
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