[pianotech] Fixing stripped screws

Michael Magness IFixPianos at yahoo.com
Fri Mar 27 10:42:05 PDT 2009


On Fri, Mar 27, 2009 at 11:34 AM, Ryan Sowers <tunerryan at gmail.com> wrote:

> The problem with toothpick and similar repairs is that it doesn't
> distribute the material evenly around the stripped hole. I thought the paper
> towel idea sounded promising and I too will try it. It would seem that if
> you make a small tube of the paper and insert it into the hole it will
> already have a "pilot" hole.
>
> I too have used leather successfully and it does make me feel like more of
> a craftsman for some reason. Maybe its just because its a good "old school"
> repair. I also tend to lean towards less toxic repairs. So I prefer to use
> Ballistol or Alcohol/water over Protek (But I still find myself still using
> it) for freeing up action centers, and aliphatic resin glue over CA glue.
>
> I've often thought that there is a good analogy between drugs and certain
> chemicals used by piano technicians. They are quick fixes and are highly
> addictive, but may not have have long term benefit. We may find that all the
> actions Proteked (a new verb!) in the 90's will start seizing up in the next
> decade. We don't really know the long term affect of these modern products.
>
>
>
> --
> Ryan Sowers, RPT
> Puget Sound Chapter
> Olympia, WA
> www.pianova.net
>


Hi Ryan,

I believe you and I are on the same track. I don't eschew new things for the
fact that they are new as  much as I question their long term efficacy over
the tried and true. Like you I prefer alcohol and water over Protek and
Titebond over CA when there is a choice to be made. Of course there are
times when Protek or CA are the preferred but I've had the same bottle of
Protek for at least 4 years now and it's still over 1/2 full. The only CA I
carry is Loctite Gel in a control bottle that allows me to squeeze out one
drop at a time. It costs 2.79 at Walmart and I may use 1 or 2 bottles (.14
oz) a year. It's useful for gluing the Kawai Styran, sets faster than
PVC-E.
I just spent about an hour a few weeks ago re-gluing several hammers in
Yamaha's & Kawai's in a high school that had obviously been CA'd by someone
previously but were loose again. I removed them, cleaned off the old
glue and reglued them properly with Titebond as I always have. CA may work
OK in a home setting for a loose hammer but in a school where it's being
used 5 or 6 hours a day it doesn't hold up, CA doesn't flex like Titebond
will.

Mike
-- 
I intend to live forever. So far, so good.
Steven Wright


Michael Magness
Magness Piano Service
608-786-4404
www.IFixPianos.com <http://www.ifixpianos.com/>
email mike at ifixpianos.com
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