Pinblocks, CA & Dope - an update

[Dean May]

>    Do not buy in large quantity unless you're
>treating many many pinblocks.  The stuff sets up into one solid mass too
>easily if the bottle isn't really tightly sealed.


I've never had a freshness problem buying from Kwick Kleen
(www.kwickkleen.com). I buy it a box at a time- about ten bottles I think.
It lasts me 4 to 6 months before I run out and reorder. But I've had old
bottles from them last much longer. You can also store them in the
refrigerator to increase shelf life.

Don't limit its use to pin blocks: splintered hammer shanks, split flanges,
cracked birdseyes, loose hammer heads, loose jack flanges, delaminated
bridges, loose ribs, bad soundboard to rim joints. You get the idea.

You have to get a feel for when and how much accelerator to use. It tends to
soak into the wood and not leave any in the glue joint if you don't use
accelerator.  Sometimes you want some to soak into the wood and swell it
before it sets up, like on hammer heads. So you apply a round of glue, wait
a few minutes, apply accelerator then another round of glue.

I've used it in a pinch to tighten a pervasive loose pivot pin problem by
applying it to the end grain of the birdseye. Use a hypo oiler to precisely
control your amounts. The glue wicked up the grain all the way to the pin
hole. Doing it on a test hammer butt will prove that it does swell the wood
and close down the hole.

I also order hypo oilers by the dozen from Schaff. The tips tend to clog.
You have to get in the habit of clearing the tip after every use. Point the
bottle away from you (or anything important) and give it a little squeeze to
squirt out any glue left in the tip.

A couple of weeks ago I had an upright with no tone at the tenor break. The
bridge was pulled away from the soundboard. I sprayed accelerator and pushed
the bridge against the board while I applied the glue. It worked great.
Since that bridge joint had failed, I also applied it to the upper treble
regions and to all of the joints on the bass bridge apron. You can actually
see it run in where it finds voids. A very quick fix (15 minutes) in the
field.
Dean

Dean May             cell 812.239.3359
PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272
Terre Haute IN  47802

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org]On Behalf
Of Dave Nereson
Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2004 3:17 AM
To: Pianotech
Subject: Re: Pinblocks, CA & Dope - an update


----- Original Message -----
From: <trc3j@juno.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, March 08, 2004 8:26 AM
Subject: Re: Pinblocks, CA & Dope - an update


> Forgive my ignorance, I'm still learning. What exactly is 'CA'?
>
> Tim
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
>

    Cyanoacrylate Adhesive, or Cyano-Acrylate Adhesive (CAA), more commonly
known as "Super Glue".  There are different viscosities -- very thin,
medium, and gap-filling, and also
accelerators, or "kickers" to make it set up faster.  Moisture also makes it
set up quickly, so storage is somewhat of a problem.  The caps have to be
replaced immediately, especially in humid climates.
    Word on the tech
grapevine is that most superglues in hardware and grocery stores are past
their shelf life and it's better to buy them in hobby stores (not
necessarily Michael's or Hobby Lobby, but model airplane- and model
railroad -type hobby stores.
    Also get a bottle of debonder for those accidental spills or unintended
fastenings of two fingers together.  Acetone also works - chemical supply
house acetone being better than fingernail polish remover.
    --David Nereson, RPT


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