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MMD > Archives > December 2005 > 2005.12.04 > 11Prev  Next


Gluing Plastic Valves to Wood
By Eric Shoemaker

Sorry for the late response, this regarding a question of how to
glue plastic to wood a few postings ago.  It is my opinion that a tar
and feathering is in order for anyone gluing plastic to any part of
a vintage player.  But I think the question pertains to the Aeolian
players (or others) of the post-WW2 era.  I hope.

I can't recall who told me; maybe I read it here.  Anyhow, Aeolian used
"Duco" contact cement to adhere the clear plastic valves to the stack
and everywhere else a valve was needed.  Even though Aeolian players of
the post-WW2 era were nowhere near the quality of the glory days before
the war, they were ingeniously simple.  Clear plastic valves enabled
visual observation so that one can determine whether the source of
trouble is a (rarely) defective valve or a clogged or leaky line from
the tracker bar.

Make sure none of the glue gets into the valve itself, the pouch or
bleed.  Attempted disassembly of this type of valve block can make
_you_ bleed!  Guess how I know this <lol>.

They're almost impossible to split open.  The plastic is so slippery
the sharpened putty knife or whatever is used to pry open the seam
somehow angles the tool into one's flesh.  I don't know how Aeolian
achieved this remarkable feature but I think Schaff, PPCo., possibly
others have replacements.  I have a coffee can of them if you can't
find them elsewhere.

Good luck,
Eric J. Shoemaker


(Message sent Sun 4 Dec 2005, 21:56:18 GMT, from time zone GMT-0800.)

Key Words in Subject:  Gluing, Plastic, Valves, Wood

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