Hi all,
Yet another CA question:
The situation: an old Ellington vertical in a cabin way in the woods, marginal condition. The customer complained about a pin that wouldn't hold. On investigation, I found that the coil was right against the plate and had likely ground the hole down with tunings. In fact, about half the strings appeared to have been poorly restrung, with sloppy coils and poor string spacing. The 90-year-old client couldn't remember someone ever installing new strings, but it was pretty obvious.
Since the pin in question had the coil right up against the plate, I knew that had to be rectified. My plan was to remove the pin, swab the hole with medium viscosity glue, pound the pin in again, and install a new string. So far we've delayed on this fix, and I've muted off the offending string. She might be ok with that, and I'm not sure this piano is worth spending $1 extra on.
Theoretically though, if we decide to go forward, I'm just wondering what preferences are concerning accelerant (I'd like it dry and firm quickly so I won't have to drive way up in the woods more than necessary).
The choices:
1. swab the hole with CA, spray accelerant in the hole, and pound the pin in.
2. Swab, spray pin with accelerant, pound in.
3. Swab, use no accelerant, pound in.
Sometimes I wonder if accelerant actually changes the characteristics of the glue, such as making it more brittle or something.
Thoughts?
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Scott Cole, RPT
rvpianotuner.com
Talent, OR
(541-601-9033
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