<HTML>In a message dated 4/20/01 10:13:26 PM Central Daylight Time, stephen_airy@yahoo.com (Stephen Airy) writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Is there any way to glue it back on or should I replace it? btw it's note A#-26 on my Ricca & Son 56" upright.  I got a couple strings spliced, and plan to glue some ivories back on & level the keys, and I'm in the process of filing the hammers.</BLOCKQUOTE> If it is still fairly soft, you can just glue it back on.  If it is hardened or disintegrated, you'll need to replace it.   Replacing with new material may seem like the best choice and a simple matter but it really can cause a complex chain reaction of problems.  New material is likely to be of a different size.  Even a difference you can barely detect may cause the damper to lift too late (or possibly too early).  If you are not yet very skilled at adjusting damper wires and/or spoons, just one damper replacement can be a big problem. For a routine regluing of a damper felt which has simply fallen off or been torn off by handling, you can use a commonly available white glue such as Elmer's Glue All or the Yellow Carpenter's wood glue either by Elmer's or Franklin Titebond or any other similar product.  They all have a long shelf life and are cheap and non toxic.  Simply apply a dot of glue to the area where you can see that the original glue was and with the action in place, lift the damper lever and slide the damper in so that it's position matches the others. In a few minutes, it should be holding.  The position of the damper can be adjusted within the first few minutes of glue application.  The glue bond will be well set in about 30 minutes and completely cured within a few hours (under normal room temperature and humidity conditions). To reglue your ivories, I recommend that you use that same white or yellow glue but in combination with Cyanoacrylate Glue (CA Glue)  (Also known as "Super Glue" and sometimes "Crazy Glue"). CA glue does not dry the way most other glues including the white or yellow glue do.  It goes through a chemical reaction.  There is a commonly used catalyst or accelerator, often called "Zip Kicker" which is the solvent, 1,1,1 triclorethylene, a very toxic chemical.  Not only is it toxic but in the case of regluing ivories, it makes the glue cure too fast, giving you no time for adjustment and weakening the bond to where it may not hold well. It was discovered a few years ago that common white or yellow wood glue can act as the necessary catalyst but a little more slowly than the toxic solvent.  It seems an unlikely combination, even an incompatible one if you were to wager a guess but the fact is that it works very well and will not discolor the translucent ivory. Simply spread a very thin layer if white or yellow glue in the key surface, then similarly, spread medium or thick CA glue on the ivory piece to be glued.  Align and press firmly with your fingers for about 30 seconds and release.  After a few minutes, clean off any squeeze out with a sharp knife blade.  It will have congealed. If you have an ivory clamp, you can use it for this too.  Just make sure that your piece is absolutely straight before you let it set.  It will only take about 5 minutes clamping time to set firmly but still some hours for a permanent cure.  This means that you can work with it or leave it as repaired after only a few minutes but that you also can break the bond to start over if you need to for some reason within a few hours of the repair. Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin</HTML>