I've had very good results regluing hammers with Coleman's superglue.
www.Colemantools.com. Very versatile glue for many purposes. Just keep the De-bonder handy, lest you glue your fingers to the hammer felt. Don't ask!
Just apply to the moulding, squeeze the felt down, hit with kicker. Done. No waiting. I usually add a staple anyway, and also do the hammers that haven't come loose, just for insurance.
Paul McCloud
San Diego
David Love:
How many are coming unglued and in what section(s)? What kind of piano and what is the quality of the instrument?
Gluing hammer felt back is not that much of a problem if you have the proper clamping set up. I would use Titebond Trim glue which sets up fairly quickly. However, keep in mind that restoring the hammer's original tension will not be achieved by gluing back the hammer felt. Usually something is lost and that can impact the tone somewhat. If a lot of hammers are failing I would try and make an argument for replacing. If the piano is poor you can simply glue them back. If it's just a couple of hammers I would probably reglue and see what the tonal outcome was first. If it's at the very top of the piano or the bottom it's less of a problem than in the midrange or killer octave (with respect to tone).
Hammer felt letting go of the molding is a problem that can happen even with the best hammers. Probably a starved glue joint problem. Staples or pins will not hold the joint if the glue lets go and restapling them will be less effective in terms of trying to restore tension to the hammer head than gluing and clamping.
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David Love RPT
www.davidlovepianos.comdavidlovepianos@comcast.net415 407 8320
Original Message------
How many are coming unglued and in what section(s)? What kind of piano and what is the quality of the instrument?
Gluing hammer felt back is not that much of a problem if you have the proper clamping set up. I would use Titebond Trim glue which sets up fairly quickly. However, keep in mind that restoring the hammer's original tension will not be achieved by gluing back the hammer felt. Usually something is lost and that can impact the tone somewhat. If a lot of hammers are failing I would try and make an argument for replacing. If the piano is poor you can simply glue them back. If it's just a couple of hammers I would probably reglue and see what the tonal outcome was first. If it's at the very top of the piano or the bottom it's less of a problem than in the midrange or killer octave (with respect to tone).
Hammer felt letting go of the molding is a problem that can happen even with the best hammers. Probably a starved glue joint problem. Staples or pins will not hold the joint if the glue lets go and restapling them will be less effective in terms of trying to restore tension to the hammer head than gluing and clamping.
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David Love RPT
www.davidlovepianos.com
davidlovepianos@comcast.net
415 407 8320
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