[pianotech] glue and screws - was Wood? - straightening...

[Joseph Garrett]

Ron N responded:
 Thumper,
> As I said before, (you must have missed it<G>), Screws do not add
> strength!! They, in fact, create problems of their own.
 
Agreed, in something like a broken leg. Screws are, however, very good 
at pulling otherwise unclampable joints together. After the glue dries, 
you can replace the screws with dowels - or not.

Completely agree.<G>
 
 
>Do not EVER us
> those damned "sheet rock screws" in a piano!
 
Sheetrock screws are quite handy in all sorts of applications including 
pianos.

O.K.? Would you be specific? Where are they useable in pianos? <G>
I would say that Sheet Rock Screws are good for many things other than
sheet rock. However, they have one flaw, (my perception), the threads go
all the way to the head, which makes it near-impossible to pull two pieces
together, unless you strip one side. This tends to make the user want to
over-cinch them and then they break.
 
 
>They are made for Sheet
> Rock! They are hardened, which makes them a real pain in the tush to
> extract should they break...which they do more often than not.
 
Then you need to learn how to use and install them. The hardness of the 
screws is what makes them much more difficult to break then the typical 
low grade imported junk that is sold for wood screws these days. I 
wouldn't be without them.

Agree with your assessment of the current crap that is being foisted off on
us. Still not sold on the Sheet Rock Screw as something that is viable in
our work. 
 
 
> HIDE GLUE is what the piano was put together
> with.
 
Not a reasonably recent piano.

Excuse me, Ron, I was referring to an Old Chickering that Thumper is
working on.  Pre WWII, not "reasonably recent piano(s)".<G>
 
 
>Use that. any other Glue will not bond to hide glue very well.

Roger that! 
 
Including epoxy, nor will any glue at all bond with the more modern 
glues when the joint fails, whatever you do.

Totally agree. Especially all of the "experimental glues" that seem to make
their way into the newer stuff, (post WWII and beyond!) Really creates some
interesting problems to be sure.<G>
 
Ron 
Regards,
Joe
Joe Garrett, R.P.T.
Captain of the Tool Police
Squares R I