<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY> <DIV><FONT color=#800000>Comments below:</FONT></DIV> <DIV> <SPAN id=__#Ath#SignaturePos__></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV>> > > > ><BR>> > > Why would a (very) = little epoxy absorbing into the wood be a problem<BR>> > ? If the bridge pin is = only a tad smaller than the hole, there will<BR>> > only be a small = volume of epoxy filling any void space between pin and<BR>> > wood. If the = wood absorbs the epoxy, then there will be none or little<BR>> > epoxy = filling the void by the time it cures. Just a concern.<BR>> <BR>> Hmm... I = rather think that some serious absorbtion would have to be<BR>> going on for = that to be a real concern. Course we cant actually look<BR>> inside the hole = with the pin in there to see.... but on the other hand,<BR>> pins so treated = dont exhibit the same kind of falseness this proceedure<BR>> porports to = cure for very long periods of time. In fact, I have yet to<BR>> see this = treatment fail over time, and I have seen mere pin replacement<BR>> fail quite often.<BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#800000>Please keep in mind that I am not saying this = is a bad thing to do - but rather just discussing concerns that have crossed my = mind. As I said before, I have used this same procedure myself when refurbishing = an old bridge. Epoxy will absorb into end grain quite readily. Take a block of = maple and liberally coat the end grain. Even a very thick coat will = usually absorb fully into the wood. When bonding endgrain to something, I = usually plan on having to coat the end grain several times to get the endgrain = saturated. In a bridge pin hole, two directions have end grain, and hence the general concern.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#800000></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#800000>On a new bridge, I don't understand why you = think it is advantageous to drill a loose-fitting hole for the bridge pin, as = opposed to a snug fit - still swabbing the hole with epoxy on the snug = fit.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>> > > As will every thing... practice makes perfect and = you get the hang<BR>> > of how to<BR>> > > accomplish this one successfully fairly easy. But what I like most<BR>> > is the = long<BR>> > > term. Seems to stay solid for like ever. Another thing to keep = in<BR>> > mind with epoxy - it relies on a mechanical bond between = wood and<BR>> > epoxy and between metal and epoxy. It is recommended by = West System<BR>> > that when bonding with epoxy to metal that the metal = surface be sanded<BR>> > rough, coated with thin epoxy, and the epoxy = sanded into the metal for<BR>> > the most secure bond. A nice new shiny bridge = pin is not likely to<BR>> > establish a good bond to epoxy. I can chip = epoxy off any glossy<BR>> > surface real easy when I get waste on it - my = floor, table top,<BR>> > etc. Terry Farrell<BR>> <BR>> Yes, well we = are not talking about bonding here. We are talking more of<BR>> an = alternative method of making for a tight fit for the pin.  I dont use<BR>> epoxy in = bridge pin holes because I want to glue anything together. I<BR>> use it to = make sure the pin is as solidly snug and supported as is<BR>> possible. It = also seems to do a nice job of counteracting the effects of<BR>> changing = climates on the bridge pin holes, as I dont see these showing<BR>> signs of = hole expansion through the years. Seems to be less of those<BR>> small = cracks out from the pin that seem to always go nearly<BR>> perpendicular and = slightly downwards from the string plane, but that<BR>> might be a biased = perspective on my part... sometimes hard to tell about<BR>> that kind of thing = :)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#800000>Again, just bringing up some thoughts. Some = folks do think that a pin will bond into the hole when using epoxy. There have = been posts in the past about concerns regarding difficulty of removing bridge pins = that have been epoxied into their holes. In a refurbished bridge, I think = epoxy is essential to fill voids in a poor pin/hole fit and to fill the = eye-corner cracks so common next to bridge pins. On a new bridge I don't know that = it is necessary, but it certainly can't hurt anything, and can only serve to = fill any small void related to drilling imperfections (on a tight fitting pin), = and to strengthen the wood immediately next to the pin as some epoxy will be = absorbed into the wood fibers.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#800000></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#800000>It seems to me that a standard tight pin/hole = pin driven into an epoxy-wabbed hole would be fully advantageous as it has = the advantage of traditional direct wood support, some frictional resistance = to pin movement and the benefits of epoxy, whereas a loose = pin/hole fit would only rely on the epoxy which does have some softness = associated with it - its not a brittle super-hard material. And please, this is = discussion - lets discuss apparent or potential advantages/disadvantages - as I am = only trying to seek out what appears to be the best method to install a = bridge pin.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#800000></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#800000>Terry Farrell</FONT><BR><BR>> = Cheers<BR>> <BR>> RicB<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> --<BR>> Richard = Brekne<BR>> RPT, N.P.T.F.<BR>> UiB, Bergen, Norway<BR>> <A href="mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no">mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no</A><BR>&= gt; <A href="http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html">http://home.broad= park.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html</A><BR>> <A href="http://www.hf.uib.no/grieg/personer/cv_RB.html">http://www.hf.uib= .no/grieg/personer/cv_RB.html</A><BR>> <BR>> </DIV></BODY></HTML>