What is CA glue?

Billbrpt@AOL.COM Billbrpt@AOL.COM
Sun, 16 Jun 2002 00:18:23 EDT


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List,

Someone asked on the "pinblock doping" thread what CA glue is.  Here is 
another example of a very commonly used abbreviation or acronym that we all 
think everyone must understand but there will inevitably be a person new to 
the list or the profession, maybe just a casual reader or researcher who has 
never heard it before.

CA stands for CyanoAcrylate and is commonly called "Super Glue" and sometimes 
"Crazy Glue".  It is a very powerful, fast acting adhesive which does not 
"dry" (by evaporating the solvent) the way most glues do.  A chemical 
reaction takes place.

It has some amazing properties and an endless list of applications.  It has 
provided piano technicians with many ways to effect repairs that were 
otherwise impossible or unfeasible.  Pinblock "doping" is a good example of 
this.  I always considered it a very dubious attempt at piano repair that 
only charlatans would engage in.  Still, I *rarely* would get involved. 

But the CA glue in this case actually healed what appears to have been a 
rather *pithy* pinblock.  Other "dopes" even epoxy thinned with acetone 
couldn't have done what the CA glue did splendidly.  Other types of repair 
such as repinning with oversized pins would have only fractured the wood 
structure further.

There are several brands of CA glue on the market.  Don't buy what you find 
in a hardware store.  Hobby stores and the piano supply houses have the kind 
useful in piano work. You need to have the 3 generally available viscosities: 
 ultra thin, medium and thick.  They each have their place which you must 
learn by practice and you must also learn which catalysts to use and when.

It can be a very dangerous and hazardous substance.  I only use it when 
another type of glue won't work.  There has been much discussion of this in 
the past so a search of the archives will yield many interesting opinions, 
techniques and usage applications.

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin
 <A HREF="http://www.billbremmer.com/">Click here: -=w w w . b i l l b r e m m e r . c o m =-</A> 

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