<HTML>In a message dated 10/17/01 10:56:24 AM Central Daylight Time, A440A@AOL.COM writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">I once drew the  line at doping pinblocks, (snip) CA is a wonderful thing to put into a pinblock. (snip)  </BLOCKQUOTE> Like I said, a time and place for everything.  My preferred use for it is to take the pin all the way out, swab the hole with medium or thick viscosity CA, then reinsert the pin.  With potentially fragile pinblocks, the old pin slips in easily, not damaging the material.  The coating of CA fills in weak, cracked or mealy areas and provides for a uniform grip when the curing begins to occur, which is within a few minutes.  In my view, this is *kinder and gentler* to an old piano or any piano with just one or a few loose pins. <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">    The Gold Bond brand of CA doesn't have any fumes, and is described as nontoxic. (snip)  Anybody know more about the chemistry of the kicker? </BLOCKQUOTE> This is too good to be true.  I hear from some that CA is toxic yet it is used in surgery.  Is it just the fumes that are toxic?  Is it just when the "kicker" is used?  As I have read, the "kicker" (catalyst) is 1,1,1 trichlorethylene, which is a solvent.   I don't know about acidity but I did notice that it was the carrier for the insecticide in a can of wasp and hornet nest killer I used a couple of years ago.  I have found that other solvents such as dry cleaning fluid will react with CA.  (Just watch what happens if you try to clean up a CA spill with a shop rag which has been cleaned with solvents!  You get a chemical fire!)  Acetone, which is also a water mixable solvent will debond CA. <to give up the handplay in aural tuning.>> Debate about Aural vs. EDT tuning aside, I strongly suggest anyone with any arthritic condition which causes impairment to look into some of the treatments that are available today.  First of all, there are medicines that are remarkably better than any previous ones.  I see TV commercials for them as I watch the morning news:  Vioxx and Celebrex.  A physician has to determine if they are appropriate for you but if they are, they can relieve the pain that causes impairment and limitations with very few side effects. There are also some high tech surgical techniques which leave no large scars, do not damage nearby tissue and from which recovery time is much faster.  With Arthroscopic surgery, bone spurs and other kinds of arthritic conditions can be corrected.  There are also injections that can be given which are long lasting in their ability to provide for pain relief and full function.  They only need to be repeated when they wear off. These medicines and techniques are expensive, however.  Just be sure you are aware of what your insurance will cover and what it will not. Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin</HTML>