•Mark Kinsler wrote in the 070328 MMDigest about a book, written by J.E. Gordon: "One of his (J.E.G.) investigations revealed that the plywood being used to construct aircraft had been rendered un-glue-able because it had been rolled with hot, smooth metal rollers during its manufacture. This closed...

•Sanding will make a wooden surface smoother, which is not a good thing to do if you want to glue it. Making it rougher does actually expend the contacting surface, making the glued connection even stronger. The best surfaces for gluing (and finishing) are hand planed faces, with sanded coming next...

•Ref. J.E. Gordon's book, "New Science of Strong Materials" I should have given this link in my earlier posting. Gordon's books -- he has another one called 'Structures,' which is equally great -- are available at Amazon.com. They've been re-issued over the years. http://www.amazon.com/Science-Mater...

•I have built two "antique" aircraft (see this link for a photo of one: http://tinyurl.com/25jbkb ) and I can tell you from experience that aircraft-grade plywood straight from the factory has a sort of sheen to it -- a slick, hard, almost shiny surface that will not accept glue very well unless tha...

•Hello MMD. After having rebuilt three player actions, all of which are still working satisfactorily, I can hardly believe I'm asking this question. As a preamble I must confess that in rebuilding those three actions I invested a lot of time in removing every trace of glue from each surface, first b...

•No, John Phillips you were not being overly fussy in getting all the old glue off the pieces you were re-covering. I have done the same now for several decades of rebuilding. However, let me inform you of a faster way to get rid of the glue. You are on the right track. Take a cloth folded to cover ...

•I have had some very useful and informative answers to my query about removing old animal glue. Largely, the advice boils down to: don't sand, use plenty of water, scrape off the swollen glue, and dry quick- ly. I am pleased to say that is more or less what I have been doing. I recall seeing in a b...

•Hello MMD. My Steck Half Duo-Art player action is rebuilt and ready to go back into the piano, but things have stalled because the piano needs some regulation, which my amateurish efforts have not resolved. My piano tuner friend seems to be on holidays (well, he's not answering his 'phone) so I've ...

•On a 1919 Waltham Player Piano, what would be the best glue for the foot-pumped bellows and reservoir? I am using the OSI rubber cloth they list for player pumps. The original cloth is very hard and it's hard to pump. I have not taken these apart yet to see what is inside of them. I have the cloth ...

•Pete, I would suggest (quite strongly) that you use the hot hide glue for your reservoirs. I would even suggest that someone in the future (distant, let us hope!) will curse your Titebond glue on those organ pieces when he/she has to recover them (due, one hopes, only because of the failure of the ...

•The only glue that I can recommend is the old style hot glue. Using synthetic glue may accomplish the job, but it is extremely difficult to remove modern adhesives when the job needs to be done again. I am certain all knowledgeable pipe organ and player technicians will agree on this. Bruce Clark ...

•I add my voice to those recommending the use of the old hot glue for organ repairs. I spent about ten hours with a Dremel tool, cursing the person who rebuilt a German fairground organ pump using what appeared to be some sort of rubber glue. It had penetrated the wood to a surprising depth and resi...

•For years now I have been using a neoprene-based contact cement made by Formica. It is their product number 140. Over 40 years ago I corresponded with an engineer at Formica and told him what I was planing to do. I still have his original letter assuring me that Formica 140 brushable contact cement...

•After reading several posts on what's now available in striker pneumatic cloth, I've decided to use the nylon/polyurethane type from Schaff on my current project. (I used the rubber coated cotton type on it, about ten years ago, but the rubber started peeling off after about five rolls were played...

•PVC-E gets lumpy when it gets old. Nylon cloth that is fresh and black is available from D.C. Ramey Piano Company, LLC 17768 Woodview Drive Marysville, OH 43040 tel.: 1-708-602-3961 http://dcramey.com/Other%20Items.html Don Teach Shreveport, Louisiana

•Gordon, As I recall, National Casein makes the PVC-E adhesives from an EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) base. I don't have an SDS available. When the glue arrives in the shop we write the month and year on the bottle and if it isn't all used within twelve months we toss it out. It develops a rotten sme...

•Like Gordon, I switched to the Nylon cloth for striker pneumatics. Many will disagree, but, I noticed that pneumatics I had recovered with Nylon cloth generally held up better after 20, 30 or 40 years. I have had great results with PVC-E adhesive that I bought from Schaff Piano Supply. I buy the qu...

•Does anyone have any experience using nylon cloth, number 668, from Schaff Piano Supply? Years ago I had an experience with Bilon from Player Piano Company. An Ampico with pneumatics and expression units which were covered with Bilon was losing a lot of vacuum; the problem was the Bilon. Needless t...

•[ Ref. Mark Washek in 181228 MMDigest ] Hi All, After running numerous tests, using four types of glues that are known as 'plastic glues', it's my opinion that the best one for gluing Urethane Coated Nylon Pneumatic Cloth to wood is Spectrum 0401. This is the glue that I am now selling at Player-Ca...

•In reply to Mark Washek's question about the suitability of PVCe glue on Schaff 668 Polylon cloth, I used this combination on my Cremona restoration 8 years ago. This piano plays at least ten minutes a day, every day, and I have had no problems whatsoever. Ray Fairfield