Glue for cracked rib?

ed440 at mindspring.com ed440 at mindspring.com
Mon Oct 30 11:19:53 MST 2006


Gordon-

When you say "cracked" I'm assuming you mean "separated," not "split."

Cold hide glue is usually the restorer's choice in a situation like this. It will soften and combine with any hide glue that is in the joint.  Hide glue is not gap-filling.  (I just came from a great talk by Eugene Thorndahl, who has spent 50 years as a hide glue chemist. He said the gap-filling properties of hide glue are an Internet myth.  <www.bjorn.net>  He may be the only source of genuine graded hide glues for instrument and restoration work.)

For a fast repair, consider CE (Cyano-epoxy aka Tech-Bond).  It has the shear and shock resistance that CA sadly lacks, and sets a bit slower.  Jim Coleman, Jr. and a few other specialty distributors sell it.

In either case you may want to drill a hole for access to the joint and inject the glue right into the center of the problem.

Ed Sutton

-----Original Message-----
>From: gordon stelter <lclgcnp at yahoo.com>
>Sent: Oct 30, 2006 12:15 PM
>To: Pianotech List <pianotech at ptg.org>
>Subject: Re: Glue for cracked rib? ( Terry ????? )
>
>Thanks, Terry.
>      I'm going to run some experiments with the other
>glues, to "see what sticks". But I like your logic
>about hide-to-hide ( although I think any water-based
>glue will bind nicely with the hide glue, IMHO. One
>thing that "came to me in a  dream" is this: I have
>the piano rolled up on its tail so the ribs are
>horizontla, and WAS intending to drip super-thin CA
>into the rib crack from the side ( the only type thin
>enopugh to make it in there, probably ) with the
>portion of the crack on the other side of the rib
>"dammed up" with masking tape, to keep the CA from
>just dripping though ( and all over the place ). But
>then I rememberered that the glue on tape "activates"
>the CA, so I might not have time to "pul it all
>together" with the clamps. So I'll run some tests with
>this. 
>      3 ribs are cracked ( so much for over-drying
>boards! ) but only one crack is wide enough to get an
>exacto-knife into. So I'm goping with the ultra-thin
>CA< and leave it all clamped tightly together for
>several dauys.
>     I'll let y'all know how it turns out.
>      Peace,
>     G
>
>--- Farrell <mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com> wrote:
>
>> The few times I've done this repair I have used cold
>> hide glue. I figure 
>> there is still hide glue on the glue surfaces, so
>> more hide glue would 
>> likely stick the best. It has good gap filling
>> properties and is easy to 
>> use. I really don't see what would be better.
>> Adhesives such as epoxy and 
>> others are only as good as your surface preparation
>> - and there will be next 
>> to none with this repair.
>> 
>> Terry Farrell
>> 
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> > Thanks, Terry.
>> >     I just made some of these. But the question
>> > remains: what glue? Bolduc? Epoxy? CA? I'm tempted
>> to
>> > try ultra-thin CA, simply because it is the least
>> > viscous, and should wick into the rib crack well.
>> > First I plan to blast out the crack in the rib
>> with
>> > brake part cleaner and one of those pipette tubes
>> that
>> > comes with it,  as these is some residue in the
>> rib
>> > crack from stripping the board ( with straight
>> acetone
>> > ) that went through the soundboard cracks to
>> below.
>> > Then I'lll roll the piano on its tail so that the
>> ribs
>> > are horizontal, and glue dripped on the crack from
>> the
>> > side will fill it well. Then I'll put in the wire
>> type
>> > clamp, and waita  few days. Question: I don't have
>> any
>> > CA accelerator, and none is sold in thios town.
>> What
>> > else might help it cure ?
>> >      If the wire doesn't want to come out, I'll
>> try
>> > heating it slightly. Heat softens cured CA>
>> >     An alternative ( that I've used to get glue
>> into
>> > tight spaces ) would to be to squeeze an exacto
>> knife
>> > blade into the rib crack, after drilling a tiny
>> pilot
>> > hole from above, poutting the drill bit back in to
>> > make sure that the blade stops it, then drillinga
>> > slighly larger hole ( like 1/8" ) from the board
>> side,
>> > and fliinig it with glue. With the blade still in
>> > place, or with the intitial, smaller bit stuck in
>> the
>> > back half of the hole, glue can then be squeezed (
>> > witha  hypo ) into the 1/8" hole, and the 1/8" bit
>> > turned around and used as a piston to force it
>> into
>> > the joiunt. This works very well to get glue into
>> > tight spaces.
>> >     What would you do?
>> >     Thump
>> >
>> > --- Farrell <mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >> I have found using little boat clamps to be very
>> >> useful for jobs like you describe:
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Plenty strong to pull anything together.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Terry Farrell
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> >>
>> >> > I'm going to use a "piano wire tgrough the rib"
>> >> type
>> >> > clamp. Of course, I'll "dry run" it, first, too
>> >> see if
>> >> > it's strong enough to oull it back together.
>> >> >     G
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
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>> 
>> 
>
>
>
> 
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