<HTML><HEAD></HEAD> <BODY dir=ltr> <DIV dir=ltr> <DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <DIV>I’ve always enjoyed doweling a glue joint when possible.  Even an eighth inch dowel across the break can improve the bond if only from a mechanical aspect.  Recently however, this young man I mentioned earlier reported seeing a glue joint fail from what he considered to be the tension created by the cross grained conflicting expansion and contraction  ..........  or at least that’s the way I understood his explanation.  The object of discussion was a grand leg whose laminations were separating.  I’d welcome any additional thoughts or comments on this.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Isaac, I sure do like your idea of a hose clamp and some rubber hose to clamp a round or uneven surface  .......  French leg comes to mind.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I’ll most likely continue to use dowels across the break.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>One recent application involved a Lowrey console in a school where moving the piano across an expansion joint made both front legs very loose.  The legs themselves didn’t break but the keybed did.  After clamping the glue stuffed break I doweled the break from just under the keyslip with half inch dowel and touched up the resulting “dot” in the finish.  The customer was happy with the results and I got paid  ............  and that my friends is the bottom line!!</DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>