[pianotech] S&S B desk glide parts

[Douglas Gregg]

Andrew,
If you have a good table saw, you are half way there. I like to use
ipe wood for small parts under severe stress. I got some ipe wood
scraps some time ago from a flooring job. That wood is so dense that
it won't even float in water. What is nice about making parts from it
is that is nearly as strong as metal and machines as well. You can
machine, drill. and plane it. and it is very stable and very strong.
One caution is to wear a dust mask when sanding and sawing ipe The
dust is quite hazardous for the lungs. I also made a piano dolly with
it. It is indestructible.
Ipe is an oily wood like teak, so paint it with an oil base paint or
lacquer. In the natural state it is a little darker than teak.

Most lumber yards carry ipe for decks now. It is a tropical wood and
probably endangered. I don't like to see it used in large areas but I
have just salvaged scraps from the dumpster. I can justify getting it
that way and putting it to good use.

Doug Gregg
Classic Piano Doc
-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Anderson <anrebe at gmail.com>
To: pianotech <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Fri, Jan 25, 2013 5:27 am
Subject: [pianotech] S&S B desk glide parts


I take care of an institutional B that has those really thin desk glides.  They
broke and I glued them.  They broke and I screwed them.  The department wanted
new replacements so I contacted the mothership and asked about ordering.  I
figured with a serial number I should be fine.  Not so fast, the parts
department told me that had only three styles current and some styles had
lapsed.  I looked at the photos sent and selected the ones that looked very much
like the ones we have.  Well, three months later I have finished desk glides
that are more than twice as thick, I can fix that on a table saw.  They are also
about two inches short, the table saw isn't much help with that.

But cutting them thinner doesn't seem to be a good idea considering the history
and the short thing is a problem.  I'm sure I'm not the only tech. up against
this problem.  What are your solutions?  What drove your choice?

Thanks,
Andrew Anderson, Artisan Piano


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