---------- > Date: Fri, 15 Nov 1996 15:27:36 -0500 > From: SGrossner@aol.com > Subject: Epoxying tenor bridge > > I am rebuilding a Starck grand, not a > great piano, but the long treble/tenor bridge has myriad cracks and loose > pins. In the past, I would take the pins out, squirt marine epoxy in there > and hammer in the pins, wiping away the excess. If the cracks are not too wide and the pins not wobbly, this is a viable alternative for a customer who wants to keep costs down. I would (1) insert *new* pins before the epoxy sets up and (2) would *not* file the b.p. tops and (3) would brush the notches lightly with a brush slightly wetted with lacquer thinner to clean up. >This worked pretty well for > bass bridges, but I am concerned about compromising the surface of the treble > bridge with residue-affecting the tone, etc. Cleaning up with the lacquer thinner should solve that problem. >A rebuilder in Chicago here once > suggested damming off the entire bridge say with duct tape and literally > submersing the entire affair in epoxy (I am using Abatron wood consolidant > from Milwaukee) <snip> Can't speak for others but this sounds like a terrible mess! <snip> > Should I > spray a release on the bridge such as teflon? Spraying a release would also penetrate into the cracks and cause problems with the epoxy fill. > The alternative is to take out 360 odd bridge pins and put em > back in with dubious results. Usually the epoxy finds some subterranean > cavity to fill and retreats from the bridge surface before it hardens. But thats exactly what you want it to do. If you use a slow set epoxy with at least a 30-60 minute pot life, keep filling up those holes (do a section of say 20 unis. at a time) with the stuff and then tap in the new pins. I use a scrap piece of bass string leader to dab in the epoxy. Clean up the squeeze-out with the brush/lacquer thinner. If there are any dubious results, it's because the bridge should not have been epoxied in the first place. Generally my rule of thumb is, if I can stare down into the crack or pull the pins out by hand, I recap instead of repair. Kind regards, jack kehe chicago ======================<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<?>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>===================== =============="The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there." Yasutani Roshi ======================<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>===================== ==============
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