Hot glue -vs- Shellac
Malcolm Spann
Bob Fowler
news:3b316945...@news.earthlink.net...
> What's the pro's and con's of using either for mounting pads?
I use both, but hot melt is my preference. Shellac is easier scrape out of
pad cups, hot melt cleans up better if you heat the pad cup and wipe it out
with a paper towel. Hot melt stays a lot more flexible than shellac and,
IMHO, handles cold weather better. Shellac is a bit messier to work with
than hot melt, but hot melt can get "stringy" when you least expect it.
Some people have a problem getting used to hot melt and complain that they
have experienced unwanted shifting when they were trying to seat the pads.
Usually, that's because they used too much heat or didn't allow the pad cup
to cool enough before they start checking their work. One other reason I
don't like shellac is that I really don't making the sticks from flakes
(molten goo isn't my cup of tea).
The important thing is that both work, and work well. It's strickly a
personal choice (unless your working on a customer horn and the specify
which glue they want).
Bob Fowler
Jive Dadson
>
> [...]
> Some people have a problem getting used to hot melt and complain that they
> have experienced unwanted shifting when they were trying to seat the pads.
Yep.
> Usually, that's because they used too much heat or didn't allow the pad cup
> to cool enough before they start checking their work.
It seems to me you have less time to seat the pad with the hot glue.
First it's too thin, and the pad is all over the place. Then it
congeals, and the pad is frozen. I haven't used the hot glue much
though. Maybe I'd get used to it.
> One other reason I
> don't like shellac is that I really don't making the sticks from flakes
> (molten goo isn't my cup of tea).
You can buy shellac sticks. They're a little pricey, but for someone
like myself who only works on his own horns, that doesn't matter.
Jive
Mike & Rene
hardware store/hobby store hot glue is really not for instrument repair
work. The key to a good hot glue is that it needs to be real high temp, and
real thick.
Georges glue is another really good hot glue, but is made for clarinet,
picc, oboe, bass clarinet, etc. , not really for sax.
Shellac is also not all the same, there is ffrench cream shellac, which is
for oboe, picc, clar, etc..., then you have flake shellac, never really
tried this kind too much, white shellac, some use this for clar, or violin
bow tip work, black shellac for violin bow frog, clarinet cracks, and
sometimes sax padding, then there is amber shellac(the type Ferree's sells),
the best glue for most sax pad work, but very pricey. Ten years ago it was
a joke for somebody to use hot glue for pad work, but the choices of hot
glue were much more limited than they are today, while ten years ago almost
everybody used shellac. Now that better hot glues are on the market, many
techs have followed the instrument makers in making hot glue their #1 choice
for padding. The advantages of hot glue are 1. much less skill is needed
to use hot glue( pads almost level themselves). 2. hot glue costs much less
than a good stick shellac. 3. hot glue has a much longer working time than
shellac(you can level a pad almost 3 times as long with most hot glues as
compaired w/shellac). 4. glue guns make application of hot glue to pad, and
or cup much faster.
Now shellac has its own advantages as well, the main one for me is feel.
Shellac cools and becomes hard, hot glue does not, so for lets say the main
line, or L hand 123 and R hand 123 (for non techs) the feel of shellac is a
much crisper, more positive feel. For me, shellac also really lets me get a
very perfect level on my pads,, and after leveling the pad I can go back and
give them a light seat, without having to worry about the pad shifting on
me, not always true with hot glue.
So since both glues are good, but with there own character, I use both of
them on almost every repad, and I find that being able to use both hot melt,
and shellac really helps get me past alot of problem pads.
I have found that most of the time sring closed pads level easier with hot
melt, and since you don't press them down in order to close them, feel is
not an issue. Shellac is what I like to use on all main line pads, because
of feel, and the little extra pop I seem to get from using shellac on these
pads. I will ask most pro customers what they want, as far as glue goes,
and do as they wish, but if they don't know or care about the glue, then a
mixture of both glues is what I like to use.
Man I just got started and went on and on and on and on...........HAHAHA
Mike Reed
saxd...@napbirt.org