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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=davidlovepianos@earthlink.net
href="mailto:davidlovepianos@earthlink.net">David Love</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> January 02, 2002 8:43 =
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Epoxy</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Del:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I have typically used West System epoxies but I am =
curious
about your use of the clear coat epoxy you describe below. =
I use
West System, among other things, to secure bridge pins when repinning =
an old
bridge. After cleaning the bridge cap, sanding out the string =
grooves,
and renotching, I put a drop or two of epoxy into the bridge pin hole, =
dip the
tip of the new pin in epoxy and tap it in. As the excess oozes =
out, I
take a fine brush dipped in lacquer thinner and spread the excess =
epoxy over
the cap and into the notches to seal the wood. After it cures I =
paint on
a thin coat of permalon--I've gotten away from putting graphite on the =
bridge. I am curious about the clear coat epoxy because it seems =
that it
might be a better seal for the wood. Will it serve the same =
function as
a filler for small cracks as the West System?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>David Love</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT size=2>The SystemThree Clear Coat epoxy is about =
as good as
'regular' epoxy in terms of crack filling. Because it is so thin it =
penetrates
into the wood surface considerably more than thicker epoxies. If you're =
trying
to fill small cracks around bridge pins you'll need to go back over them =
frequently as it soaks in. The stuff has a really long working life if =
you don't
mix overly much so this isn't all that much a problem.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT size=2>We've been making laminated caps for most =
of our
bridge work of late and have been using the stuff to seal the notches =
where the
end grain shows up. Probably overkill, but it really does soak in a
lot.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT size=2>Most of the time we still graphite bridges =
as a matter
of customer preference. On our own pianos we do not. I fail to see the =
point of
it.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT size=2>Del</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>