[pianotech] screw-y stuff

[Paul McCloud]

Wow! Another "Hole-iday"!
I'd use mold release on the screws and fill the holes with epoxy to firm 
up the wood fibers on smaller holes.  You could mortise out damaged 
material and install a wooden block, glued in place with thickened 
epoxy.  Plugs also work, as you suggest.
Filling holes with toothpicks or other kinds of slivers 
                           seems to work, but must have glue (Titebond) 
to hold them in place.  I personally don't like toothpicks (the soft 
kind), but prefer to mash a hammershank with vice-grips and use the 
splinters (hardwood).
If you have the Webb Phillip's Wood Rebuilder, you can use that to fill 
the holes.  Spray the screws with mold release, mash the Rebuilder into 
the holes and install the screws.  You'll have a perfect screw hole. 
Just be sure the screw is bottomed out when you first install it or it 
will hit bottom before it's tight after the rebuilder hardens.  You 
could run the screw into the hole without the hinge so it will go in 
farther.  Then when you install the hinge it will have some extra room 
at the bottom of the hole.  I love that Wood Rebuilder stuff.
Young Chang has  nice metal inserts in the lid for the lockbar screws. 
They are inserted using a hex wrench and are machine threaded for the 
long screws of the lockbar.  Very strong.  Would be nice to have such 
inserts for all the lid hardware.
I'm sure others will have their suggestions too.  Have fun!

Paul McCloud
San Diego



reggaepass at aol.com wrote:
> List,
> 
> With annual "Stripped Screw Hole Day" repidly approaching here at 
> CalArts, I would appreciate recommendations for four different 
> lid-related screw hole repairs on four different pianos.  
> 
> Yamaha C7E: screw holes of female (rim-mounted) lid locator hardware 
> (torn out by repeated collisions between lid and immovable object, such 
> as wall)
> 
> Baldwin F: lid hinge screw holes; the many short ones on the lid itself 
> (ditto above cause for damage)
> 
> Steinway B: stripped out lock-bar screw holes (don't know how this happened)
> 
> Steinway D: screw holes in the flyleaf and lid, for the screws that 
> fasten the long "piano" hinge (due to over-tightening and/or handling)
> 
> I was planning on installing delignit plugs in the rim of the Yamaha and 
> glue-sizing (possibly with some non-glue material added) for the others.
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Alan Eder
> The Herb Alpert School of Music 
> at CalArts
> 
> 
> 
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