Paul Manganaro's article about hot glue reminded me of a story some
of you might like.  About four or five years ago, I was walking down
an unfamiliar street in Queens, N.Y.  I noticed an elderly man down the
block trying to saw some tree branches that had fallen from his tree
(there was a big storm the night before).

He was having a difficult time of it holding the branch with one
hand and a saw in the other.  Not being in any particular rush,
I volunteered to hold the branch steady so he could concentrate on
sawing.  I noticed that each stroke of the saw cut very efficiently;
in a moment the branch was cut.

The fellow looked at me and said, "Do you know how old I am?"
I said "I guess you are in your eighties".  He then said,
"My name is Frank Deutschman and I am ninety-seven years old."

We made conversation for a few minutes, but the critical moment was
reached when he said, "I'm a cabinetmaker".  That was a nice touch,
I thought, since he didn't say "I was a cabinetmaker".

I began to ask him questions, and before long he invited me in his
house for a cup of tea.  I remember him telling me about one of his
first big jobs: it was the early 1920's and radio was just beginning
to come in.  Frank got a contract to mass-produce cabinets for these
newfangled inventions.

Throughout our conversation, I noticed we had similar opinions about
certain things, but there was one really big surprise: I was telling
him how I restore player pianos, and I insist on using the right
materials, like hot glue.

"You must remember hot glue," I said to him.  "I sure do," he said,
"and I hate it."

What was that?  An old-timer who hates hot glue?  How can this be?
Frank continued:

"I hate that stuff with a passion.  You had to mix it and soak it.
You had to watch the temperature and the consistency.  You can't just
use it.  You had to create a hot box so the pieces you are gluing will
be warm and not cause to glue to set too quickly.  Gluing large
surfaces creates big problems.  You have to keep adding water.  It was
just a real mess, and I was very happy when the new glues came out."

Well folks, there you have it, straight from the horse's mouth (and
hide!).  I guess it is easy to look at the past with rose colored
glasses and imagine happy technicians working away.  It is quite
another thing to live through an era.

Randolph Herr