Yes, I'm not at all claiming you can heat it and make an adjustment. But you can heat it and break the joint easily in the case of removing a hammer head. David Love davidlovepianos at comcast.net www.davidlovepianos.com -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Ron Nossaman Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 4:41 PM To: Pianotech List Subject: Re: Hot Hide Glue Problem > I can assure you that I've been removing them that way for about 30 > years without introducing any moisture. Ungar Heat Gun or smaller > Weller Gun, heat the joint, pop them off with a pair of removing > pliers. I can usually heat up an entire section at time and go through > and remove them, i.e., it's not necessary to do them one at a time. > Interestingly, as the joint cools it becomes more difficult suggesting > the glue does indeed respond to heat alone. There is humidity in the > air, of course. Whether the hygroscopic properties of the glue itself > cause it to absorb some moisture from the air which is activated by the > heat, I don't know. Even if that's the case, rarely do we work in zero > humidity situations. But, to be sure, they can be removed with the > application of dry heat. No illusion here. Try it. > > David Love I suspected that's what you were talking about. This is a far cry from the original premise that you can heat dry hide glue and adjust the hammers without breaking the joint. I've done what you're describing too, and my take is that the dry heat makes the glue more brittle, and the joint more easily broken with shock or pressure. It's a different thing. Ron N
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