Hi, Jim
My approach to avoiding damage and irritation from breathing CA is to use it only on tuning pins which absolutely are not tunable without it, and to use the minimum amount needed to get them tunable,
If someone decides (for a reason which I cannot fathom) to treat a full pinblock with the stuff, of course it is going to get very toxic.
All the medium loose tuning pins, which are not slipping, can be put off till another visit. As long as they are holding, they will do until they decide not to hold. At that time, and not before, they should be treated. For pins with a reasonable if low amount of torque, the feel while tuning is better than if they have been treated. Therefore, why treat the ones which don't really need it? CA on just a few pins takes only a minute or two. You don't need to schedule, bring a big bottle of glue, wear protection, turn the home into a wind tunnel, etc.
I keep a very small bottle (Loctite, water thin) in my kit at all times, and a couple of spare bottles still on the cards for when the open one clots up. When I encounter a tuning pin so loose that it will not hold, I put on a few drops (no need to tilt an upright, just hold a shop towel under the pin to catch any which runs off.) Usually one treatment will let you tune the note a few minutes later; otherwise I put on a second dose.
Using CA glue in such small amounts is a lot better than exposing yourself to more. "The poison is in the dose", as people say.
When I ask myself why people want to treat a whole pinblock, the only thing I can think of is that they remember the bad old days when our only recourse for a bad pinblock was glycerin and alcohol, making a huge mess, requiring tilting of an upright, taking a week to sink in, and leaving everything feeling spongy. They perhaps are assuming that CA should be used the same as "treating" with that goop. But CA is totally different, and can be used in a different and much less all-or-none way. It's also a lot more toxic in quantity, so why use a big quantity if less will do?
If you don't try to flood in as much as you can, you'll be a lot better off. One of CA's best qualities is that it likes to follow a crack. It wicks in very quickly. That's possibly why some loose pins need a second dose: the first dose wicked deep into the crack or delaminated pinblock, so too little was left to coat the hole around the tuning pin. The second dose goes in, and cannot follow the long cracks because they have already been sealed by the first dose.
it seems from the repeated dialog on the list that everyone ignores this advice, or maybe they just don't believe it. I am at a loss to figure out why they don't try the minimal route, which has worked very well for me for about 25 years.
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Susan Kline
Philomath, Oregon
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-02-2017 21:23
From: Jim Ialeggio
Subject: CA glue
thanks for all the ideas.
Its interesting that all the model/hobby shops around me are history...there used to be a bunch...not sure why.
I called up Ed Dryburgh and he says I should have a bottle of red Hot Stuff---water like viscosity...by saturday, which works. I will keep track of the Mcmaster suggestion, actually they carry both the loctite and another suggestion's Permatex...usually next day delivery, though not guaranteed.
With the hardware store Loctite Ultralight (not so ultra-light though), boy...just messing with that kaka in the shop to see if it would work, I was having the burning eyes, throat and headache. I always use positive a positive ventilation hood with this stuff, but as I was just messing with it for 5 min skipped the hood...nasty yuck of a substance. I don't remember the dryburgh being that aggressive...hope its a little easier on the membranes than the hardware store stuff.
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Jim Ialeggio
grandpianosolutions.com
Shirley, MA
978 425-9026
Original Message:
Sent: 11-02-2017 19:50
From: Michael Spalding
Subject: CA glue
Is there a Hobbytown USA near you??? I've found their house brand,
produced by Bob Smith, to be reliably fresh.
Original Message------
I don't keep CA glue around...I don't use it much. So I usually buy it when I know I need it soon because CA I keep in stock is always bad by the time I need it.
I'm doing an on-site bridge pin CA job next week. I intended on using Loctite from a local hardware store in their "ultra thin" variety. Testing some, it was not as thin as I had hoped. Anyone have luck sourcing local ultra thin fresh CA stock?
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Jim Ialeggio
grandpianosolutions.com
Shirley, MA
978 425-9026
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