Pinblock Repair

[Farrell]

It smells as though it is a polyester resin base material. It is mixed with a hardener. I believe the recommended technique is to swab the hole (not the pin) and let cure. Materials that cure with a hardener usually are best to leave for an overnight cure at a minimum (although some of course are specifically designed for a very quick cure). And, although an overnight cure will find the bonding material very hard, often, like in the case of epoxy, it will continue to increase in strength for a period of several days.

With this stuff, I would recommend a minimum of an overnight cure - a couple days would be better - you want that material to be as settled as you reasonably can have it. 

However, I also believe this material is designed to make a loose 2/0 hole into a snug 2/0 hole. Going from a bottomless 6/0 hole (or larger), with potential unseen damage associated with it, this wood rebuilder might not be the right stuff for this particular situation. 

Personally, if removing the plate is out of the question, the following is my best recommendation for plugging - and I would estimate with 98+% certainty it will work (unless the block is termite eaten or rotton or similar):

Drill a 3/8" hole through the plate and pinblock from above (or better yet, one bit size larger - you want a loose fitting plug). Clean out the hole from below - remove any loose material, etc. Obtain a 3/8" diameter pinblock plug (make you own or buy one/bag from Webb Philips) of suitable length. Sand the sides of the plug with very coarse sandpaper. Wet the hole and the plug with unthickened West System resin/hardener (you can use their #205 fast hardener - although I would still allow for an overnight cure). If the unthickened epoxy seems to soak into the wood well, keep applying until it does not soak in any more. Mix some West System 404 High-Density filler into the resin for a peanut-butter consistency. Put a piece of plastic on the bottom side of the pinblock, a block of flat wood under that, and block that piece of wood firmly against the pinblock bottom (a pinblock support jack would be great). Goop a thin layer of thickened epoxy on the plug (work in a little so that you are sure there is complete contact) and enough into the hole (push it into the sides of the hole) so that you will have squeeze-out. Push in plug. Clean up squeeze-out (acetone is the clean-up solvent). (You may want to inspect the bottom of the block to make sure you don't have a bunch of squeeze-out where you don't want it - will depend on how well the plastic/wood mates with the pinblock bottom.) Let cure overnight (at least). Drill for new 2/0 tuning pin, etc.

Hope this helps.

Terry Farrell
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  Hi, Terry, and Will.  I tried it today, and I wasn't satisfied with the results.  I tried to mix it runny, put some in the hole, put in the pin, let dry.  I must have not let it dry enough, because the stuff sticks to the pin, and when you screw it out, some of the stuff comes out with the pin.  I guess the way to do it, would be to fill the hole, let it dry, and re-drill?  I was hoping to avoid that, but hey, if it works????
  Clark A. Sprague
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