I have, for many years, turned up my nose at the hot melt glue gun,
but I have found two uses for them in the rebuild shop.  Yes, my
assistant uses it for floral arrangements on the pianos from time to
time, but that does not count.

I use the hot melt glue gun to attach a light wooden straightedge
between end hammers for each section of a piano when I am hanging new
hammers.  This gets my hammer line totally straight.  You reinstall the
old end hammers into each section after getting them back from Renner
to drill your new ones from.  Then install the new hammer right beside
each of the old hammers, lining up the crown or strike point on the
neighboring hammers.  Let those dry, remove the old hammers, and use
the hot glue gun to attach the straightedge to the back or bottom
shoulder of the hammers.  This will line up the whole section to those
two end hammers.  When done slice the straightedge off and sand file
the glue off the 6-8 new felt hammers.

Also I have found that I can arrange my tracker bar tubing neatly
in rows and curves using the hot melt glue gun to hold them in place.
This is particularly helpful when you must replace tubing in an Ampico
drawer that had lead tubing originally.  It stayed nicely in place but
rubber tubing will not.

I never thought I would have a use for this stuff but I do.  I still
kind of doubt I will find a use for contact cement.

D.L. Bullock    St. Louis
www.thepianoworld.com