List, I can only concur with Rogers approach, we use West System for plugging. And while I have no doubt that the Weldwood would have sufficient strength, these glues will add a small amount of moisture to the repaired pinblock, whereas epoxies will not. This is an important consideration with pinblocks since, if an appropriate density of wood has been chosen originally, it will have an ADD in excess of 0.7 gr/cc. A pinblock repaired with a water based glue will take a long time to normalise. There is a small risk that pinblocks repaired with water based glues, might in time allow for the pin torque to reduce to marginal levels. I agree with Del about the gap filling qualities of epoxies. This must be an important consideration for pinblock repair. Regardless of which adhesive is chosen, I would add that it is very important that the holes and the plug mating surfaces are lightly sanded prior to gluing. A pinblock drill hole will tend to have a 'burnished' inner surface, which will prevent the glue film from keying into the adjacent pinblock (I speak from past experience here). The idea of using larger diameter plugs, where possible, has much appeal. Pinblocks often fail because the wood density is too light, and is therefore incapable of supporting the string tension. A smaller plug in a weak pinblock might result in the pin pressure splitting the new wooden plug, crushing it outward into the original pinblock material. I realise that a 15mm plug for example, will be too large to allow for all holes to be repaired in one session. But I suspect it will produce a more satisfactory repair. Regards, Ron O -- _________________________ Website: http://www.overspianos.com.au Email: mailto:ron@overspianos.com.au _________________________
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