Thanks Nancy, and Ron. Ive replaced a couple Bluthner blocks with all their compound fitting requirements, and I cant say I was significantly faster on the second than the first and Im not actively looking for a third! :>) I think the main idea behind the 3/8 plug Ron, as you probably know, is to do a repair from the top without having to overly enlarge the tuning-pin hole through the plate. On the few Ive done, the resultant hole is hardly noticeable, but the repair itself failed, so I guess Im done with that. However, Im going to bench-test some ½ plugs in spare time. Thanks again, Mark C. _____ From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Nancy Salmon Sent: May 2, 2009 11:41 AM To: caut at ptg.org Subject: Re: [CAUT] pin-block plugging? I recently (within 2 years) plugged part of an odd Weber grand where the pinblock was in 2 parts. The bottom layer was one solid piece of maple, mitred into the case. This I plugged with falconwood plugs; 3/8" only would fit. The top layer, fit to the plate, I replaced with falconwood. Drilled for 2/0 pins. The result is only OK. Just enough torque and is fairly stable. Though I installed a Climate Control unit, the building has radiant and passive solar heat, so it is difficult to judge my results. Were I to do it again I would modify the case and replace both parts of the block. The difficulty was compounded by fitting the plate/block to the mitred base blindly - very tricky and time consuming. I realize the first time for anything is slow. This has been a valuable thread, thanks for raising the question. Nancy Salmon RPT Frostburg State Univ., Maryland On Fri, May 1, 2009 at 11:47 AM, Mark Cramer <cramer at brandonu.ca> wrote: Interesting thought Marcel, it never donned on me I might be creating a glue-starved joint with aliphatic resin glue. When I use this stuff my practice is to coat both surfaces and let it sit for a minute before assembling, for that very reason. All the same, does it strike you odd that I havent had dozens of technicians reply to say weve had nothing but success with pin-block plugs especially technicians from the era when plugging rather than replacing blocks was the fad. (?) BTW, I think youre right, a bench experiment would probably solve the mystery in a hurry. Best regards, Mark Cramer, RPT Brandon University _____ From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Marcel Carey Sent: April 30, 2009 7:04 PM To: caut at ptg.org Subject: Re: [CAUT] pin-block plugging? Hi Mark, >From your description, I think you might be drilling too SMALL for the plug. There has to be a gap. You might just be pushing all the glue out of the hole and then when you repin the whole plug might turn. Of course after putting in bigger pins the plug eventually sticks there. I've seen it done at Steinway factory for a pin that was too loose to start with. If it has worked for them, it has to work for you too. Maybe you could experiment in an old piece of block until you find the right combination. Marcel Carey Sherbrooke _____ Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:12:26 -0500 From: cramer at brandonu.ca To: caut at ptg.org Subject: [CAUT] pin-block plugging? Now and then I run into a situation where plugging a tuning-pin hole and re-drilling seems like the only option. IOW, neither an over-sized pin, CA glue nor an emery paper shim will work. Ive tackled this fairly carefully, even using a small portable drill press clamped to the keybed to get a precise hole, but I never seem to get a good result: Ive used plugs from both economy blocks and Bolduc blocks. The plugs are a tight fit to the wood, and really have to be driven home. Ive used carpenters glue. Nonetheless, the results always seem to end up the same. I bore for a 1/0 pin, then end up installing a 2/0, then up-sizing to a 3/0, and often a 4/0!? Anyone have success with this? Over the years some of you mustve plugged and re-bored entire pin-blocks. Whats your secret? Thanks, Mark Cramer, RPT Brandon University _____ Windows Live Messenger vous permet de rester en contact plus facilement- apprenez <http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9650737> comment! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut_ptg.org/attachments/20090504/1c6b021d/attachment.html>
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