CA glue on hammershanks

[A440A at aol.com]

Dean writes:

<< My experience parallels Jon's. I always use a spritz of accelerator in a
loose wood joint. Otherwise no glue remains in the joint, it all soaks into
the wood. >>

Greetings, 
     It is my understanding that CA sets up because a weak acid, formed in 
the glue in the presence of atmospheric water), breaks a chemical bond in the 
glue, which causes the unstable liquid to instantly solidfy.   The accelerator 
is simply a very weak acid solution.  You can usually get the same effect with 
just a little moisture. (if you ever attempt to blow the last bit of CA out of 
of the tip, you may find an addition glued to your lip. DAMHIK). 
    If you slightly moisten the hammershank before applying the glue to the 
joint, you may find that the result will be an extremely fast, solid bond. The 
same thing happens if you rub chalk on the end of the hammershank.  It stops 
the joint starvation. 
Regards,



Ed Foote RPT 
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html