Charges

[Michael Magness]

On 8/18/07, Ron Nossaman <rnossaman at cox.net> wrote:
>
>
> > ? How come the sarcasm about CA? Not a cure-all, certainly, but oh so
> handy in Granny's ol' Wellington upright, ca. 1906, CA 2007
> >
> > Alan Barnard
>
>
> Yea, maybe so. I don't have anything against the use of CA,
> it's more a matter of volume and discrimination of use. I
> wonder how many techs don't carry CA at all. I don't, and
> might be in two situations a year where I'd find it handy. I
> never have found it necessary. Meanwhile I'm flabbergasted
> reading this list, how often CA is the first choice for what
> seems to me to be about any and all field repair situations,
> and how liberally and indiscriminately it's applied. My
> admittedly archaic personal sense of what's right and proper,
> I suppose. Just consider the curmudgeonly source and ignore me.
>
> Ron N
>

Finally a voice of reason in a sea of CA users! I'm in my 38th year in this
business and have grown tired ad nauseum of the liberal use of CA for
everything from a loose hammer to a cracked key, buzzing soundboard rib or
hammer felt popped loose from the molding, etc. etc. All repairs eminently
repairable with good old Titebond! I have pointed it out before and I will
use this opportunity to do so again, CA isn't reversible  doesn't  allow
working time and you'd better get things aligned perfectly first try! I
don't claim to be perfect to anyone, except my wife who has
disagreed(rightly so) for 37 years now, so I know I'm not going to get 2
pieces of a cracked  key to align perfectly straight first try. With
titebond I can make sure it's straight, then give it a couple of wraps with
some clear UPS tape and my "clamp" is in place and I can use the key
immedietly! I just cut holes in the tape for the balance rail hole and the
key button bushing at the top. The tape lasts forever and fits between the
other keys! The same with loose hammers and felt from moldings a loose
hammer with some titebond will stay in place unless the hole is very
oversize in which case CA won't help either, I have wrapped a half of a
front rail punching around loose ones with Titebond though.
People have gotten carried away with investing in the West system CA package
with it's several viscosities of CA and instant setting spray. So to justify
the cost of carting it around they use it for everything! Instead of using a
little measured, patient common sense and doing the repair with a little
thought and intuition. Remember it's not just about the quantity of work,
it's also about the QUALITY of work!

I do carry CA it's a Loctite product, a gel, in a gray and blue bottle, it
costs less then $3 at Walmart and building supply stores. I use it for the
occasional cracked flange and for regluing hammer shanks and catchers or
catcher shanks in Kawai pianos with the Styran hammer butts and catchers,
titebond won't work on it,  PVC glue does but is too hard to carry in a
small amount. CA also works on it so I carry it for that eventuallity. I
like this particular brand because the bottle is quite sturdy, no fear of it
being crushed or punctured in my tool bag, and it has a dispensing system
that uses a squeeze on 2 raised portions of the side to dispense a single
drop at a time.

So as Ron says consider the source but also consider this, the piano case,
pinblock, keybuttons, bushings, hammers, dampers and all of the other glue
joints in the piano you are working on are some other glue than CA! Now
don't you suppose there's a good reason for that?
Mike


-- 
Michael Magness
Magness Piano Service
608-786-4404
www.IFixPianos.com
email mike at ifixpianos.com
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