Glues and Adhesives

Aliphatic resin (a.k.a. "yellow glue", "carpenters wood glue")-very good, probably the best glue to permanently bind two pieces of wood together; consequentially it should not be used to glue wood pieces that will need to be separated during a future repair or rebuild. If aliphatic resin is used to glue two pieces of wood previously joined with hide glue, first clean off all the old glue (a good practice anytime you are gluing) to maximize the holding power of the aliphatic resin.

White glue - (a.k.a. "Elmer's" glue) - is good for a lot of household purposes (it's non-toxic) but it has NO use in player piano rebuilding. It was widely used in player piano repair thirty or forty years ago, but if you have ever tried rebuilding a player mechanism that has been previously restored using this glue, you will certainly agree that using it violates the "make no future rebuilding more difficult" stipulation. I don't even have any in my shop.

Liquid Hide glue (a.k.a. Franklin Hide Glue) - is often sold at hardware and crafts stores and is a good glue for certain applications in player piano restoration. It can be sanded; wood pieces can be separated along the glue line at a later date with minimal chipping, it holds felt and leather to wood well. This glue does not stick well to metal however, so it should not be used as a sealer around metal connectors, or to cement anything to metal or any other non-porous surface (including finished wood surfaces).

PVC-E - This is not the glue sold in hardware stores that is used to join plastic pipe (that glue is PCV, and has no use in player piano repair unless your piano is equipped with an automatic lawn irrigation system). This glue is only available from piano suppliers, has the appearance of white glue, and is a very good glue for joining porous material to non-porous material (felt to metal, plastic replacement keytops to the key, leather gaskets to metal hose connectors) and is also good for sealing around metal tubing and hose connectors. PVC-E is water soluble until after it dries. Even after it dries it remains flexible, and has phenomenal holding power. It is very difficult to remove from wood, so it really should only be used on materials that can withstand the heat and abrasion that occurs when the glue is removed at a later date. Burnt shellac is a good substitute for PVC-E in many instances where a component may later be destroyed when removing PVC-E.

Burnt Shellac - Burnt shellac is the material originally used to glue felt to metal, seal around tubing and hose connectors, glue metal to wood (when reinforced with screws), and other uses. It is made by mixing shellac flakes with very little alcohol, or by literally burning most of the alcohol out of premixed orange shellac. Obviously, this should be done outdoors (because of the fumes) and well away from all flammable objects. Burnt shellac remains the best material to use for the purposes listed above.

Hot Melt Glue - Often sold in crafts stores, it is easy to use and apply via a glue gun, but worthless in player piano repair and restoration. It's holding strength is nowhere near what is necessary in most applications in player piano restoration.

Cyanoacrilate (a.k.a. super glue) - has some limited applications in player piano repair, but often there is better glue for the purpose. Obviously a glue with this kind of holding power can be extremely difficult to remove in the future, so unless it will never have to be serviced again, it will probably violate the "make no future rebuilding a pain" stipulation.

Contact Cement - Seldom used in player piano restoration. The only time there is an application for contact cement is when the rubber mats on the pumping pedals need replacement. It should never be used for gluing rubberized pneumatic or bellows cloth, and should certainly never be used for gluing materials foreign to player piano repair (such as vinyl, naugahyde etc.) anywhere in the piano. Some technicians in the past have used it to cement plastic keytops to the key, but sometimes the keytops will come off after a few years.

Epoxy - Epoxy is good for making some permanent wood repairs (where replacement of the part is not economical), for repairing low-stress metal parts and some other miscellaneous repairs. Once again, use the guideline for not making future repairs more difficult than they have to be.

Rubber Cement (a.k.a. Carter's Liquid Rubber Cement) has some applications in sealing leather.

Beeswax is sometimes used to seal around screws that are countersunk in wood (common in old Kimballs, where it was also used to seal around the Bakelite upper valve seats).

Shellac was often used to seal internal passages in wood, and is good for renewing those passages providing that any old, loose shellac is removed first.

Hot glue - Not to be confused with hot melt glue which is applied with a glue gun (and has no use in a player piano), hot glue is the most appropriate glue for gluing leather to wood, bellows cloth and pneumatic cloth to bellows and pneumatics, leather valve facings to wood, pneumatics to deck boards, leather gaskets to wood and dozens of other applications where felt or leather is glued to wood, or wood is glued to wood and will need to be separated for a future restoration. Mixed properly with water and kept at a constant temperature in a special glue pot, it sets quickly and has excellent holding power. It should not be used where metal is one of the components being joined, or where the wood being joined has a finish.

Goop Adhesive - Sold under the name Goop, it is a useful adhesive for gluing felt to metal where the glue joint will not be under stress. Similar to PVC-E in applications, it is somewhat harder to work with (it is thicker), but easier to remove for future repair.

Materials page. (What materials and quality to look for).

Resources page. (Where to find it).

Helpful Information main page.

Home - New Pianos - Digital Pianos - Used Pianos - Rentals - Player Pianos - Email

E-Mail Ragland Piano Co.