CA glue

[MHoffman11@aol.com]

Hi David--

In a message dated 97-02-25 18:22:05 EST, you write:

<<
 I would be very interested in hearing from anyone who has used CA
 glue to render an otherwise untunable piano usable again. I have several
 private customers with well-used blocks in their pianos, for whom
 rebuilding is not really an option. Does this work on a previously doped
 block? Are those old uprights really salvageable aft >>

I've used CA glue on a number of "not much chance of doing any harm" pianos.
 They have all been tunable since then, with about a five year history.  Some
pinblocks seem to respond REALLY good:  The pins tighten nicely
 and they still feel good to tune;  others end up feeling like pin-tight and
get jumpy...but are still tunable.

The best result I have seen is for a Story & Clark studio, about 20 years
old.  The bass section was completely untunable and is now very solid and
stays in tune.  Total time for that fix was about 15 minutes (use your
tilter!).  An acceptable remedy for a school system with no money to spend on
piano maintenance, eh?

I also used it on a Mason & Hamlin A that had been pin-doped and pronounced
untunable by a previous tuner.  These pins were marginally tight, so I pulled
it up to A440, then applied the CA glue.  It was interesting to hear about
4-5 bass pins "pop" as the liquid glue was sucked in the block.  These pins,
all in a row,  remained untunable, even with 2-3 applications of glue.  No
choice but to put in bigger pins...which tune nice and smooth, BTW.  The
piano is still holding tune (and now has a full Climate Control installed,
too)

The most important tip I could give anyone considering this as a quick,
worthwhile, cost-effective means of squeezing a few more years out of
hopeless pinblocks is:  TAKE A FAN WITH YOU...THIS GLUE WILL ROT YOUR
EYEBALLS IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL.

Take similar precautions regarding removing the action, using plastic over
carpeting, etc.

Educate the customer that this is not the best option, but will likely work
if the environmental humidity is controlled and until adequate funds are
obtained  to correct/replace the instrument.

Stay Tuned!

Mike Hoffman, RPT
Marquette, MI