Fixing Cracked Drones
petensue
Don Humphreys wrote:
>
> Does anyone have experience fixing hairline cracks in drones? I have a set
> of Hendersons and just noticed a small crack forming in the blowpipe and
> the bottom joint of the bass drone. Is there a way to seal the cracks and
> halt any further creeping? I thought of a very thin cyanoacrilate (crazy
> glue), but I'm scared to try it yet. Ideas?
>
> Don Humphreys
Fingernail glue.
Sue P.
Don Humphreys
Todd Muscat
petensue wrote:
> Fingernail glue.
> Sue P.
This is a really bad idea. This stuff is acrylic! 'yer pipes are WOOD! You
might as well stuff a shard of glass into the crack!
While I understand the allure of cyanoacrilate adhesives, there are many reasons
this makes a poor repair for wooden bagpipes. For one thing, 'cyanos' are
BRITTLE! The wood in 'yer pipes is always cycling through expansions from
moisture - it needs a strong *elastic* bond. Another is that, despite a clever
advertising stunt (the man hanging from a girder with only a single drop of
adhesive), the strength is really not that great for repairing cracks. Sure the
tensile strength is tremendous (good for, say, gluing your Pipe Major to a
girder); but, the shear strength is pitiful (again it's very brittle stuff). To
demonstrate this, glue your finger tips together with the stuff (the usual
disclaimers apply) try to pull them apart. Hard, isn't it? Now try twisting
your fingers. Viola, the stuff shreds right off! That's why it's so good for
fake fingernails (not to be confused w/ 'false fingerings'): can you imagine if
the stuff had shear strength on the order of it's tensile strength? Basically
every time you snagged your fake nail, your whole fingernail would come ripin
off; instead, the fake part just shears off. Also, this stuff dries so fast,
you canna' position the piece during the repair; so, basically you are gluing
the piece APART not TOGETHER This is because the stuff rushes in like vapor and
dries instantly (not to mention leaves a gruesome residue all over the outside,
if your not VERY carefull). Bonding suffers, because black wood is HARD and
needs to be able to absorb the glue into intersticial sites. I recomend using a
24 hour epoxy resin (you can find them specifically for exotic tropical woods, i
understand)
On the other hand, if you don't really care about the pipes all that much, then
don't worry about it.
YMMV
Cheers
Todd
Todd Muscat
DO NOT! Repeat: DO NOT! - use Cyano on your Hendy's! Use a S-L-O-W drying
epoxy resin. Search with 'deja' (or the like) and review many fine posts on
the very subject, courtesy of 'yer friends here on rec...bagpipe.
Cheers
Todd
Dr...@rotdoctor.com
In article <01bd796a$f6bfc860$b041e4cf@default>#1/1,
"Don Humphreys" <hump...@cadvision.com> wrote:
>
> Does anyone have experience fixing hairline cracks in drones? I have a set
> of Hendersons and just noticed a small crack forming in the blowpipe and
> the bottom joint of the bass drone. Is there a way to seal the cracks and
> halt any further creeping? I thought of a very thin cyanoacrilate (crazy
> glue), but I'm scared to try it yet. Ideas?
>
> Don Humphreys
>
Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (CPES), which is an all-epoxy product formulated
specifically for wood repair. It never hardens enough to get brittle, and will
easily penetrate thin cracks. You can find complete details on the product at
the website listed below.
The Rot Doctor
http:www.rotdoctor.com
E-mail: Dr...@RotDoctor.com
Phone: 206 783 0307
Fax: 206 783 0582
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/ Now offering spam-free web-based newsreading
petensue
Todd Muscat wrote:
>
> petensue wrote:
>
> > > Does anyone have experience fixing hairline cracks in drones? I have a set
> > > of Hendersons and just noticed a small crack forming in the blowpipe and
> > > the bottom joint of the bass drone. Is there a way to seal the cracks and
> > > halt any further creeping? I thought of a very thin cyanoacrilate (crazy
> > > glue), but I'm scared to try it yet. Ideas?
> > >
> > > Don Humphreys
> >
Hi Todd, While I would like to say I stand corrected, here is my
experience to the contrary. I had a severly cracked drone stock. I had
nothing to lose by using the glue, as the crack released mass quantities
of air and was deemed unrepairable by those who knew of such matters.
So I placed the glue on the outside of the drone, and fastening my lips
on the stock making an airtight seal (and what lips they are) blew the
glue into the crack. This repair has held for a good two years (in our
moist NW climate), and if and when it fails, I imagine I will either try
it again or tie in a new stock. Just be careful you don't glue your
lips to the stock. Most Embarrassing.
Sue P.
petensue
MiffMole wrote:
>
> If you have a set with no value beyond its' playability, like most new sets,
> and you want to do your own crack repair, cram as much cuano in there as you
> like.
That's GUANO to you, buster.
;-p, Sue P.
Gryffyn
Don Humphreys wrote:
>
> Does anyone have experience fixing hairline cracks in drones?
Brigade. Everybody got a theory...
Here's the poop (We're talking about hairline cracks, right? Not big
ones):
The best approach would be to mix a penetrating epoxy (Smith, in
Richmond, California makes one for boat repair that works wonders with
mahogany and other exotic woods). Inject it with a hypodermic syringe.
Let cure for two days. I'd do any future cracks this way, but just
because I have the stuff on hand for my old wooden boat.
Next best: mix a regular epoxy glue, like West Systems stuff for boats.
Inject it the same way (but with more difficulty).
Next best, BUT QUITE GOOD ENOUGH, THANK YOU, IT'S DONE THE JOB ON CRACKS
IN MY HARDIE BLOWPIPE STOCK FOR 11 YEARS NOW, is cyano-acrylate (Krazy
Glue, Super Glue, etc.). It flows in easily, cures fast, and lasts a
long time. Wipe overflow immediately, and it'll hardly show.
Now, be sure to read all the replies to this missive, 'cause everybody
gonna have oh-so-cogent explanations why I'm totally WRONG to even
propose that something that isn't the BEST way can be quite good enough.
--
Gryffyn
aka:
Scott R. Leslie
web page: http://www.svn.net/srleslie
e-mail: mailto:srle...@svn.net
MiffMole
This has been rehashed many times in this group, but I can't help chiming in.
If you have a set with no value beyond its' playability, like most new sets,
and you want to do your own crack repair, cram as much cuano in there as you
for a bit. For the sake of future generations, don't ever do this to anything
you might want to pass on to your children.
There are 2 good ways to deal with a crack.1-do nothing. If it don't leak, no
big deal. If it's a new crack, the wood may with to continue to release and
deform, and a repair will probably need to be redone. If you're really bothered
by it, fill it with beeswax.
2. Repair it. Let an instrument shop do it for you if you have no experience
and want it done right. If you try it yourself, use only epoxies made for
fixing hardwoods. NO superglue, Elmer's, DAP 5-minute epoxy, etc. Your pipes
had better be very dry as well-no playing for days. If the gap needs to be
closed, you probably won't do a good job of it-see above about letting a pro do
it.
There are lots of list readers here who could do this job just fine, but not
everyone has the same ability. I've seen some really mucked up pipes that the
owner was positive that they could fix. Any shop that repairs cracked clarinets
would love do fix you bagpipes-no bloody tone holes or keys to mess with. It
won't cost as much as you think.
Keith Elliott
MiffMole
>Now, be sure to read all the replies to this missive, 'cause everybody gonna
have oh-so-cogent explanations why I'm totally WRONG to even propose that
something that isn't the BEST way can be quite good enough.<
Does saying in advance that this will happen (it WILL) mean that it will not be
true?
(This is a light-hearted comment. If anyone chooses to read it otherwise,
bugger off.)
Keith Elliott
Todd Muscat
Sounds good to me Scott...
Cheers
Todd
Gryffyn wrote:
> Now, be sure to read all the replies to this missive, 'cause everybody
> gonna have oh-so-cogent explanations why I'm totally WRONG to even
> propose that something that isn't the BEST way can be quite good enough.
Gryffyn
MiffMole wrote:
> Does saying in advance that this will happen (it WILL) mean that it will not be
> true?
Ach, how little minds can misconstrue what's true: of COURSE it's gonna
happen, and of COURSE it's true as well. I was just hoping to disconcert
my assailants enough that (some of) their slings and arrows might miss.
I'm going to bugger off now...