Hello Jeannie, The needle and hypo were given to me by a doctor in 1992 or 1993. I take care of my tools, but any identifying numbers are worn off. The doctor died about four years ago, so I can't ask him. The needle is 5/8" long and .02" outer diameter. I unscrewed the needle. It has a blue plastic flange or sleeve that slips over the hypo tip, just under 3/16" inner diameter, smooth on the inside. I grabbed a bottle of Loctite Super Glue (not my usual, but it was in front of me). It's the water thin stuff I would use on loose tuning pins. The tip of the bottle ends in a step down to a 3/16" nib that said "yes!" I snapped on the needle and made little sample drops. The drops were small enough that they would enable very discrete CAing of tuning or bridge pins. The "afterdrop" was very tiny and did not drip from the needle tip. Unlike the nylon tip, it didn't take much pressure to make the drop, so I hope this method will be less thumb cramping than the nylon tip, which in addition to being sloppy is also a pain in the thumb. I usually use Hot Stuff CA, and have a large supply of old caps which have been cut short when they clogged. Trimming down a bit lower seems to give a good fit on my one and only needle. This morning I called a pharmacy and found that needles can be purchased over the counter in North Carolina. When I finish my "A" tasks for the week, I'll go see what's available, and maybe can write you a prescription. The needle would fit perfectly on a Tech-bond CE bottle tip, but might clog because Tech-bond is somewhat thicker. I will try that when I have more needles. I find CE is stronger than CA, and am using it fairly often. I am yet to try this on a piano in the field, so it is just a preliminary report of a first test. Best wishes, Ed -----Original Message----- >From: Jeannie Grassi <jcgrassi at earthlink.net> >Sent: Mar 20, 2006 2:18 PM >To: ed440 at mindspring.com, 'Pianotech List' <pianotech at ptg.org> >Subject: RE: CA delivery apparatus > >Hi Ed, >What do you mean you "just snapped a thin hypodermic needle onto the tip of >a 1 ounce bottle of thin CA." ??? How did you do that? Hypodermic needles >come in all sorts of thicknesses.....what are you calling "thin"? I appear >to be stuck on this concept. (Pun intended!) Seriously....could you please >elaborate? >jeannie > > >Jeannie Grassi, RPT >Registered Piano Technician >Island Piano Service >Bainbridge Island, WA >206-842-3721 >mailto:jcgrassi at earthlink.net > > >-----Original Message----- >From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf >Of ed440 at mindspring.com >Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2006 5:29 PM >To: Pianotech List >Subject: Re: CA delivery apparatus > >Jon- > >I just snapped a thin hypodermic needle onto the tip of a 1 ounce bottle of >thin CA. > >I was able to get fairly small drops, one at a time without the dribble that >happens with the thin nylon tip extenders. The drops were small enough to >do a discrete tuning pin job as you described. > >To clean it, I filled the syringe body with acetone and squirted it through. >If I had a good supply of needles, I would just toss it after use. > >Ed Sutton > >-----Original Message----- >>From: Jon Page <jonpage at comcast.net> >>Sent: Mar 19, 2006 7:04 AM >>To: pianotech at ptg.org >>Subject: CA delivery apparatus >> >>I've been mulling over means to apply CA to bridge pins >>and not risk flooding an area. >> >>The elongated tip on the bottle doesn't offer enough control. >> >>Once I tried a hypodermic needle and the plunger kept getting >>hung up (glued to the sides). If one were to lube the ways >>would the glue dissolve it anyway placing the lube in suspension? >>Does the plunger offer fine enough control? Is there an appliance >>with a screw drive whereby the plunger would be activated by >>finely controlled pressure? >> >>Another device might be a drafting pen (old fashioned variety). >>This might be the item because it can't dump excess by mistake. >>I hate it when that happens. >> >>An artist's fluid-writing pen might clog too easily. However there >>might be an application for a Speedball tip. (I've done calligraphy >>in the distant past, which comes in handy when lettering plates - >>fluid-writing pen and waterbased acrylic medium). >> >>An artist's brush will solidify and have too much area for pin-point >>application. I've used this before and was not satisfied. >>Two or three fine wires bundled together might work, >>sort of like a mini-pen/steel brush. >> >>Maybe the Moody Drip-o-lator? (check the archive, it's in there) >> >>Any sure-fire delivery system out there? Brainstorming welcome. >> >>I'll be suppressing the false beats on a treble bridge tomorrow. >>So far I'm leaning towards the drafting pen but will also experiment >>with a greased-up hypo. An old-style drafting pen might be easier >>cleaning than a Speedball tip. >>-- >> >>Regards, >> >>Jon Page >>_______________________________________________ >>Pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > > >
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC