[CAUT] glue sizing (great tip!!)

[Ed Sutton]

Mark-

Alcohol and yellow glue mix to a transparent gum.  Adding alcohol to a
water/glue mixture might help, but probably best results will come from
pure alcohol first.

When grinding fine pigments for watercolors, alcohol is used to "lead" the
water.  The alcohol has low surface tension, and wets things that won't
take water.  Then, since water and alcohol mix easily, the alcohol "draws"
the water into the pile of fine powder.  It can help us that way, too.

I use rubbing alcohol in my glue softening solutions (about one part each
of rubbing alcohol, vinegar and water).  It soaks directly into old felts
and cloths that tend to repel water.  If the felt is very hard to wet, I
use straight rubbing alcohol on the first pass. (Before using any softening
solutions, I first try straight steam.)

When rebushing hammer flanges, I squirt pure 200 proof alcohol into the
bushing while the glue is wet and the pin is inserted, but before trimming
and fitting the final pin. It seems to insure a good final fit...or maybe
it's my superstition.

Ed Sutton



> [Original Message]
> From: Mark Cramer <Cramer@BrandonU.ca>
> To: College and University Technicians <caut@ptg.org>
> Date: 6/28/2005 12:08:44 PM
> Subject: RE: [CAUT] glue sizing (great tip!!)
>
> Thanks for this great tip David (swabbing the hole w/alcohol to break
> surface tension) I will add it to my recipe!
>
> Mark Cramer
> Brandon University
>
> BTW, for the same reason I swithced to re-sizing flange birds-eyes with an
> alcohol/glue solution rather than water/glue, several years ago:
>
> (squirt in with a syringe, blow out with compressed air, dry over
> Dampp-Chaser bar... works fine!)
>
> I wonder why I wouldn't replace the water in key-hole sizing solution with
> alcohol as well? The wood is already swollen from steam, so it's not as
> though I need the water to swell the wood. Anyone comment?
>
> THANKS!
>
>
>
>
>  My one addition is to swap the hole with
> >some alcohol, before applying warm to hot sizing solution.  If the keys
> >are dirty, the solution just seems to sit without absorbing into the
> >fibers unless I've used something to break the water's surface tension,
> >.  Otherwise, my current preference for older keys is probably more along
> >Don's "pin-less" approach.  For new keys, I'd probably try the pin-caul
> >method, if I had the correct size pin.
> >
> >David Skolnik
>
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