Hammer hanging glue and replacement butts for uprights.

[gordon stelter]

I just removed some of Wally Brooks' Abel hammers that
I was stoopid enough to hang on a  crappy set of those
Pratt-Win butts a few years ago. The butts were so
poorly drilled that a LOT of shank-bending was
necessary, so I decided to replace them with the
Tokiwa ones. 
    It seems to be a  "white" glue, like Elmer's, or
white Titebond. I very much liked the fact that
putting my elecric hammershank bender up near the
hammer heads softend the glue enough to remove them
neatly.
    A related question: I already have a  set of
Renner upright butts, with the integral spring, but am
reluctant to use them because:
1) The bridle straps are too short. I did a  piano
with these recently where the straps were so short
that the bridle wires on the butt had to be bent to be
in front of the backcheck wires. So I drilled a  new
hole in the tabs. If I ever use these again, I;ll glue
on my own straps.
2) The cathers don't have the projection hanging down,
with the little felt square for the jacks to bap
against, on hard playing.
     I get the impression that these butts are really
only for certain European actions.
    Comments?
     Thump

     

--- Erwinspiano@aol.com wrote:

>  
> Dittos David.
>             Especially when we are considering how
> many times a set of key 
> bushings may be  replaced in a high use piano. ie. a
> set of front bushings  
> other year on  the glissando & heavy  use pianos.
> With Pvce it's a  miserable job 
> to get key bushings  out & it is  destructive 
> ususally removing mortise  wood 
> in the process  thereby changing the nicely machined
> dimensions of the 
> mortise. I consider  pvce glue for this
> application.......well... .... mal practice. 
> flame  suit on.
>   If this is what the asian pianos use for hammer 
> head/keybushings glue I 
> wish they'd use something else. It's an almost 
> impossible job to get the stuff 
> off & I've done this often when the shanks  are
> still basically pristine & 
> worth reusing.
>   We've used cold hide glue for hammer hanging for
> years  with great success. 
> It's easily reversible & easy to re-hang treble
> hammers  to tweak the strike 
> line for optimal power & sustain & I do this  often.
> It's working time is 
> wonderful & strength is plenty.  Just make sure it's
> in date.
>   Joe thanks for all the great info.
>   Dale Erwin
> 
> David Love said: "The nicest thing about  hide glue
> is the reversibility.  
> Removing  bushings
> glued in with PVC-E is a  pain.  Bushings glued in
> with hide glue will nearly
> fall out  when saturated with an application of
> water spiked with a small
> amount of  the surface tension reducer of your
> choice.  Hammer heads won't
> click  with hide glue if the fit is reasonable and
> if you apply it to both
> parts  before assembly (and if you use a bit of urea
> to be sure assembly
> takes  place before the two surfaces gel and won't
> bond as well).   I've
> recently tried using Franklin's Trim and Molding
> Glue for hammers and  it
> worked nicely.  But I had to remove a set glued on
> with it and  while it was
> no trouble to heat the joint and remove the hammer
> head, I  found it
> difficult to get all the old glue off the shank. 
> When heated  it turns into
> a kind of sticky rubber band that doesn't really
> come off  that easily.  The
> hide glue softens up nicely and can be heated to a 
> crystalline state where
> the poorly named "Hammer Shank Reducer" works 
> quickly and effectively to
> remove the old glue without "reducing the  shank
> 
> 
>  
> 



		
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