# [2007] Gorilla Glue Strikes Again.



## AwayWeGo (Apr 12, 2007)

When our grandson comes over for meals or snacks, he frequently used a spcial _Child Chair_ set up in front of a special _Child Table_, which is actually any of the little 3-leg tables out of a set of small, stacking low tables just the right size for a little guy or a little girl.  Last night there was a major _oooops !_ that left a plateful of spaghetti on the floor & 1 leg broken mostly off the _Child Table_. 

Even though no misbehavior or rambunctiousness was involved, Grandson felt bad that the table was broken, possibly thinking he was somewhat responsible even though he's only 4 years old.  He wanted that table fixed pronto.  By that time I had gone off to band practice & Grandma Carol explained that Papa Alan would fix the table "later."  That didn't sit 100% right with Grandson, but he accepted it & the evening ended happily. 

Next morning, Grandma Carol (better known to TUG denizens as The Chief Of Staff) said, "We better work together on getting that table fixed."  I said OK & got out the Gorilla Glue & the C-clamps for some fixa-fixa-fixa.  I filed down the rough edges of the broken-off cheap sawdust-board material so that the broken piece containing the screw anchor for the table leg would fit back into the space it broke out of, then wet down the surfaces to be Gorilla Glued, smeared on some Gorilla Glue, & applied the clamps.  It's working.  As the Gorilla Glue cures, some of the excess foams up & out along the line between the pieces being stuck together, showing only on the underside of the table. 

The table has practically zero monetary worth.  The main value in this exercise is being able to show Grandson next time he's over that his _Child Table_ is OK once again -- no harm done.  

Grandparenthood is really something special any way you shake it.  What's really strange is that nothing about the experience of fatherhood adequately prepared me for the joys of being a grandfather.  Who'd a-thunk? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Icarus (Apr 12, 2007)

You need your own blog, Alan.

-David


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## Keitht (Apr 12, 2007)

Wouldn't it be easier just to glue your grandson to the table??  
Guess who doesn't have kids, never mind grandkids


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 12, 2007)

*Blogga-Blogga-Blogga.*




Icarus said:


> You need your own blog, Alan.


My son the computer scientist -- father of my grandson & chip off the old block -- has a fine blog of his own.  Check out _Bit Guru_ on the World Wide Web.  As for me, my blog is TUG-BBS. 

Just about my whole life is on TUG-BBS.  I didn't jump into TUG-BBS with that in mind.  It just worked out that way over time.  And TUG-BBS has advantages over a plain-vanilla stand-alone web log.  Being involved in timeshares to varying degrees gives us all an interest in common with each other.  Plus, TUG-BBS offers the pleasure of enjoying the (virtual) company of lots & lots of very nice people whom I have come to think of as friends even though I have scarcely ever met more than 1 or 2 TUG people face to face -- & that very brief meeting was several years ago.  And since just about all of us TUG folks are out & about from time to time at various timeshare resorts in & around Orlando & the Outer Banks & Branson & Las Vegas & Massanutten & Williamsburg & Hawaii & Cancun & Aruba & Atlantic City & the Manhattan Club & so many other great places, there's always a chance that 1 day some of us will meet face to face.  Wouldn't that be something?  

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## bslag (Apr 12, 2007)

*I know what you mean...*

What great grand parents you are to go to such effort!  as you implied, it probably would have been easier to discard and buy a new table.  But I know (I have a 4 year old), they often get something in there little brains and nothing else will work. My guess is the next time he walks in your house the first thing he does is ask about "his" table!


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## CSB (Apr 12, 2007)

If I met a fellow TUGGER I would probably not know it unless they wear their user ID. I go to the Toronto User Group meeting. We do not wear our user ID and I may not be able to link the user name with the actual person.


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 12, 2007)

*Recognizing People From T.U.G.*




CSB said:


> If I met a fellow TUGGER I would probably not know it unless they wear their user ID. I go to the Toronto User Group meeting. We do not wear our user ID and I may not be able to link the user name with the actual person.


That's what makes it so important to know the TUG _Secret Handshake_. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## JLB (Apr 12, 2007)

I know people are from TUG when they walk up and say, "Are you JLB and is this where we are eating ribs?"

If they say, "How ya doin with yur neighbors?" I know they are also on TS4Ms.

It's fun when you are meeting people for the first time, after knowing them for a long time.  More than once we have sat and looked at another couple for quite awhile before either couple worked up the nerve to go over and say, "Are you waiting for . . . ?"

Just to make it clear one more time, John and Sandi's email address reminds me of Doug and Shelley, so when Sandi emails me and we plan dinner or something I have to do a double-take.  Of course, dinner with either is great.


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## fnewman (Apr 13, 2007)

That is the thing we have enjoyed most about the TUG cruises - getting to meet some of these people face-to-face.  I hope to meet some new ones on the upcoming cruise next February. RU?


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## bigfrank (Apr 14, 2007)

I have been using GG for about 6 months. It works great and so far the tip has not clogged.


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## bobcat (Apr 14, 2007)

*GC*



bigfrank said:


> I have been using GG for about 6 months. It works great and so far the tip has not clogged.



After you use the glue, squeeze the bottle so the clue comes to the top. Then put the top on. The clue can harden and be of no use. I purchased a bottle  and that is what the hardwear store told me.


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 14, 2007)

*Clogga-Clogga-Clogga.*




bigfrank said:


> I have been using GG for about 6 months. It works great and so far the tip has not clogged.


My Gorilla Glue bottle tip clogged up before long.  With just under half its original volume left, the 4-oz. bottle now has a crust of hardened Gorilla Glue 1/8-inch thick sealing off the remaining usable glue that's left underneath.  To do fixa-fixa-fixa on the _Child Table_, I had to unscrew the lid of the Gorilla Glue & use a screwdriver to break through the hardened layer so I could get at the gluey stuff below.  That got the screwdriver all gluey, so I just used it as the Gorilla Glue applicator, cleaning it off afterward the best I could.  So it goes. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## fnewman (Apr 14, 2007)

A good paint thinner will clean it off of your tools before it dries, of course.  You can also use some on a rag to remove any glue that squeezes out when it expands.


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## Topeka Tom (Apr 15, 2007)

*PU Warning*

Gorilla Glue is the most popular brand of polyurethane glue, generically known as  PU glue.  Elmer's makes a brand that locally sells for roughly half the price.

They are finding that PU is nasty stuff, like epoxy.  Try not to get it on you, and let it cure in some ventilation.

I like it for birdhouses, because the foaming fills the really crummy joints I tend to create, and I don't need all its strength, anyway.  The bottle says that the foam has no structural strength, which I interpret as meaning it isn't as strong across a big gap filled with foam.  No big deal as I use mechanical fasteners anyway, the glue is just to prevent the nails from working loose with the frost.


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## bigfrank (Apr 15, 2007)

I was out tonight and guess what. We were talking about GG. I was told that you should wet what ever you are gluing first with water. The Gg starts to foam and adheres better.


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 15, 2007)

*Squirta-Squirta-Squirta.*




bigfrank said:


> I was told that you should wet what ever you are gluing first with water. The Gg starts to foam and adheres better.


That's how we do it -- works fine.  Who'd a-thunk? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 15, 2007)

*Generic Gorilla Glue.*




Topeka Tom said:


> Elmer's makes a brand that locally sells for roughly half the price.


Next time we'll go with Elmer's or maybe even some generic Home Depot house brand & see how well that works.  There's only an ounce or so left in our partly dried-out original 4-oz. plastic squeeze bottle of the real mccoy -- maybe enough for 1 or 2 more small-scale glue jobs. 

Meanwhile, The Chief Of Staff gave me a roll of Gorilla Tape -- used it so far for 1 job (fixing cracks on an under-car plastic spare tire cover).  With luck, I won't get any flat tires & therefore won't need to crank down the spare -- meaning that (with luck) I won't actually find out how well the Gorilla Tape repair job is holding up under there. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## bigfrank (Apr 15, 2007)

AwayWeGo said:


> That's how we do it -- works fine.  Who'd a-thunk?
> 
> -- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​



 I have not tried it with the water yet but with out the water it works great. Only thing I don't like about the GG is that it takes to long to set.


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## Topeka Tom (Apr 15, 2007)

*PU uses*

water in the process of setting.  Often it can get plenty from wood, for instance, but to assure that it sets faster and stronger, using some water helps.

It can get water from the air, but once it skins, that process is over.

If it can get water, it sets faster.  (I think I already said that -- twice )


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## AwayWeGo (May 3, 2007)

*1 More Repair Out Of Same Old Gorilla Glue Bottle.*

Most of what's left in our original container of Gorilla Glue has dried up & crusted over.  But there's still a little remaining in super-sticky semi-liquid form down at the bottom -- enough for 1 more fix job this morning.  After that, who knows. 

Occasionally 1 of the spot-welds will break off a music stand base, leaving the 3-legged stand with just 2 functioning legs & thereby converting a complete & formerly OK music stand into a hunk of junk.  I don't do welding, so I improvised a workable fix for the music stand base using Gorilla Glue. 




I drill 2 holes in the hub where it overlaps with the leg that broke off.  Then I position the loose leg where it belongs on the hub & use a pencil or felt-tip pen to mark the spots on the leg that line up with the freshly drilled holes in the hub.  Then it's drilla-drilla-drilla to make 2 holes in the leg that line up with the holes in the hub.  Using a reamer, I enlarge (just slightly) the holes in the hub so that self-tapping screws will just slide through without biting -- the screws only need to bite into the corresponding holes in the leg.  

Next, I moisten the surfaces where the leg overlaps the hub & I smear on some Gorilla Glue.  I line up the holes & fasten the leg onto the hub using the self-tapping screws.  Reacting with the moisture, the Gorilla Glue foams up & fills all the spaces between the pieces being joined -- more thoroughly than the original spot-welds, actually. 

The screws stay in even when the Gorilla Glue hardens.  Screws plus Gorilla Glue could be overkill.  Or instead, it might just be reinforcement.  The 2 or 3 times I've fixed music stands that way previously, it has worked OK.  Friday night, the fixed stand will go to band practice with me & stay there after the rehearsal is over. 

BTW, Friday's band practice is dress rehearsal for a world premiere performance of a new concert band version of _The Sea Princess_ by Seymour Barab, arranged by Robert Pouliot, music director of the City Of Fairfax Band.  Guest artist singing & narrating _The Sea Princess_ at the Saturday evening performance (May 5, 2007) is Bob McGrath, a versatile performer best known for his TV appearances on _Sesame Street_.  _The Sea Princess_ is based on Hans Christian Andersen's _Little Mermaid_ -- not the kinder, gentler Walt Disney version of the story. 

Fairfax Band's 2006-2007 concert season opened with a world premiere & will close with the world premiere performance of another piece of music -- not too shabby for a community ensemble of (mostly) amateur musicians.  The opening concert back in October 2006 featured the world premiere performance of _Foundation_ by Mark Camphouse, which was written on commission as a memorial to the late Ray Abell (1935-2002), who was band president for many years.  (Ray was the kind of guy that the longer you knew him the stronger your admiration grew for him.  But that's another story.)  Then our season-closing May 5 performance will feature the world premiere of Bob Pouliot's band arrangement of _The Sea Princess_.  A repeat performance of _Foundation_ will also be on the program.  

I never expected I'd get to play a world premiere performance of anything, much less 2 world premieres, much less 2 different world premieres in a single concert season.  Who'd a-thunk? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## bigfrank (May 4, 2007)

You guys jinxed my non cloging bottle. I went to use it and guess what


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## bobcat (May 4, 2007)

*glue*



bigfrank said:


> You guys jinxed my non cloging bottle. I went to use it and guess what



You must take all the air out of the bottle after each use and then cap it. If you do not the glue will harden.


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## susieq (May 5, 2007)

AwayWeGo said:


> Grandparenthood is really something special any way you shake it.  What's really strange is that nothing about the experience of fatherhood adequately prepared me for the joys of being a grandfather.  Who'd a-thunk?
> 
> -- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​



Alan,

I always enjoy reading your posts ~ you must be somebody really special ~ you seem to be able to make entertainment from anything. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I know what you mean about Grandchildren ........ If we had known how much fun they'd be, we'd of had them first!!  

Sue


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## AwayWeGo (May 5, 2007)

*The Air In There.*




bobcat said:


> You must take all the air out of the bottle after each use and then cap it. If you do not the glue will harden.


Shucks, I'd do that if I could figure out any way how.  It would be an improvement if the stuff came in squeezy toothpaste tubes that don't let in air instead of regular plastic squeeze bottles.  Even recapped, my Gorilla Glue squeeze bottle lets in plenty of air.  That's how come it's drying up & crusted over.  So it goes. 

Meanwhile, it turns out the May 5, 2007, Fairfax Band concert will have 2 world-premiere numbers on the program, not just 1.  The other world premiere in addition to _The Sea Princess_ is Jerry Brubaker's new concert band arrangement of _The Music Of Disneyland_ :  



> The Music Of Disneyland (Arranged by Jerry Brubaker).  At the movies, on TV, via Internet, and all over the theme parks, music is just as big a part of the magical Disney experience as are Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Arranger Jerry Brubaker (a member of the City of Fairfax Band) has arranged a lively bunch of Disney tunes into a sprightly piece titled _The Music of Disneyland_, featuring “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,” “The Mickey Mouse Club March,” “Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life For Me),” “You Can Fly,”  “The Great Outdoors,” “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes,” and “It’s A Small World.”



Jerry Brubaker, BTW, was Chief Arranger of The United States Navy Band before he retired to civilian life, joined the City Of Fairfax Band, & kept on doing outstanding professional musical arrangements commercially instead of doing'm for Uncle Sam.  The Navy Band's loss is Fairfax Band's gain. 

Tickets will be available at the door.  If you're in the area, come on by the Fairfax High School auditorium & listen.  The stick comes down at 8PM.

If you can't make it, you can hear an MP3 of The Music Of Disneyland that's on The Maestro's web site -- it's a studio recording made by professional players strictly for promotional purposes.  The other MP3 on The Maestro's web site is a MIDI file of The Sea Princess for rehearsal purposes only -- a pale shadow of the real mccoy. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (May 9, 2007)

*Foundation --- Music, Not Glue.*

One of the BBS entries below refers (down near the end) to _Foundation_, by Mark Camphouse, commissioned by Fairfax Band as a memorial to the late Ray Abell.  The piece now has been commercially published so that bands & ensembles everywhere can play it if they want.  Not only that, the publisher has made available by Internet a professional studio recording of the piece so that music directors & band conductors can listen to _Foundation_ before deciding whether to add the score & instrumental parts to their music libraries.  While it remains on line, the rest of us also have an opportunity to listen.  For that experience, feel free to click here. 

The piece is serious music, but it is not mournful or somber.  It is concert hall music, not church music -- even though the melodic materials the composer used are _How Great A Foundation_ & _Be Still My Soul_, 2 of Ray Abell's favorite hymn tunes.  And it is an original concert band piece, not just an arrangement or setting of 2 tunes taken from the hymnal. 

It was a privilege to be able to participate in the premiere performance of _Foundation_, & it is extremely good to know that this highly original way of memorializing our late friend & band president will resonate throughout concerts halls far & wide now that the piece has been published. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (May 14, 2007)

*Now, Why Didn't I Think Of That?*

The guy in the _Gorilla Glue_ store (Black & Decker outlet in Rehoboth Beach DE) says store the bottle upside down.  That way the hardened layer that gets crusted over is near the bottom of the bottle & the glue down at the tip end of the bottle remains fluid & squeezable. 

I can only respond by smacking myself in the forehead & saying, "Duh!" 

What a doofus for not thinking of that myself! 

Meanwhile, over at the Home Depot store in Lewes DE right up the highway from Rehoboth Beach, there were 2 brands of Gorilla Glue on the shelf in containers of various sizes -- the original Gorilla Glue (the real mccoy) & the equivalent product from the Elmer's Glue company, both for the same price -- & no house brand or off-brand or generic brands of polyurethane glue -- not that there's anything wrong with those.  So it goes.  Next time I'll see what they have over at Lowe's. 

_Pronuncation Note_ *:*  Folks from around there say it _Lewis, Delaware_ -- not _Lewz, Delaware_.  Who'd a-thunk?  

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Jul 14, 2008)

*You Were Prescient About That.*




Icarus said:


> You need your own blog, Alan.
> 
> -David


You knew it before I did.  Who'd a-thunk? 

So now I've got 1, pre-fab, set up for me by my son, who also bought me the Internet domain name to go along with it -- Mox-Nix Dot Info. 

So far, Mox Nix Blog consists exclusively of entries recycled from TUG-BBS.  If you already read'm all here, you don't even need to bother with the blog. 

Eventually, once I get the hang of administering the blog website, maybe I'll branch off separately.  Till then, I'm still a-blogging right here on TUG-BBS as always. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Fern Modena (Jul 14, 2008)

Alan,
You need to add a link to your Blog to your signature lines...

Fern


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## AwayWeGo (Jul 14, 2008)

*Good Idea -- I'm A-Working On It.*




Fern Modena said:


> Alan,
> You need to add a link to your Blog to your signature lines...
> 
> Fern


I think there is some unrecognized TUG-BBS technical issue with the size of my already overlarge 4-line signature block that's full of Internet hyperlinks.  

That is, the no-smoking link (to an image of a Marloro pack) has been nonfunctional for a long time.  When I tried to fix it by substituting an image link with a shorter URL, TUG-BBS wouldn't take it -- there were too many characters in my signature file. 

I can only assume that when I set up the signature file, there was either no limit or a larger limit on the number of keystrokes TUG-BBS would accept.  When the limit (or the smaller limit) was laid on, that didn't affect signature files that were already in place, but it did keep me from sending in an overlimit revision.  

I think the thing to do is go with a new, limit-compliant signature while  placing an updated version of the old-style signature manually in each new TUG-BBS entry. 

The only downside of that is that all the old TUG-BBS entries -- & there are lots of those -- will show the limit-compliant new signature without showing the updated old-style "signature" that can only be inserted manually in new entries, 1 at a time. 

Meanwhile, there's nothing from me -- yet -- on Mox Nix Blog that's not also on TUG-BBS.  Eventually, the blog may collect user comments from people who blunder in & want to respond to something.  If there any of those over there, I haven't seen'm yet.  (However, some of my TUG-BBS follow-ups to TUG-BBS entries that migrated to the blog are shown as "comments" on the blog, rather than as separate blog entries.  I still have not seen any blog comments by other people -- actual comments, that is, as distinct from follow-on commentary from me that originated at TUG-BBS.)

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## bmann (Jul 15, 2008)

*Grandpa of Five Smart Grandkids*

Grandchildren our special and I could not resist telling this joke.....

Why do grandparents and grandchildren get along so well???...........................


They have common enemies!!!!!!!!


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## CalifasGirl (Jul 19, 2008)

*doesn't work on everything*

I bought a knock-off purse in Mexico, and the metal fastener fell off. I tried Gorilla Glue on it, but the fastener fell off again after about a couple of months of use. I guess it's best on stuff that isn't constantly moving around.

My boyfriend tried it on his sideview passenger mirror. Again, it fell off after a little while. Probably too much vibration for the glue to handle.

I learned from my purse mistake. My current purse isn't a knock-off. Well, not that I know of. I stayed away from metal fasteners this time, just in case.


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## MelBay (Jul 19, 2008)

OMG, when I read the title of your post:



> Gorilla Glue Strikes Again.



I just ASSumed you were going to tell a story about some poor dog who ate a bottle of Gorilla Glue and I was just cringing as I opened it.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can read more.  Boy, am I glad this was a grandchild/life lesson fun story and not something tragic.  Good for you!


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## AwayWeGo (Aug 12, 2009)

*No Gorilla Glue Needed This Time.*




AwayWeGo said:


> Occasionally 1 of the spot-welds will break off a music stand base, leaving the 3-legged stand with just 2 functioning legs & thereby converting a complete & formerly OK music stand into a hunk of junk.  I don't do welding, so I improvised a workable fix for the music stand base using Gorilla Glue.


It happened again -- another music stand had 1 of the legs of its base break off at the spotwelds.  By the time I noticed it, the broken-off leg was nowhere to be found.  Without it, I couldn't try another repair using Gorilla Glue & self-tapping screws. 

By E-Mail, I asked the company if I could buy a replacement stand base, or (even better) buy an unwelded replacement steel leg.  They sent me -- free -- a whole new base for the stand.  

Nice buying stuff from a company that stands behind its products. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## ScoopKona (Aug 12, 2009)

AwayWeGo said:


> To do fixa-fixa-fixa on the _Child Table_, I had to unscrew the lid of the Gorilla Glue & use a screwdriver to break through the hardened layer so I could get at the gluey stuff below.



Chuck a drill bit of a similar size to the bottle's opening into your drill. Set the drill on a low speed, and play urologist with the bottle.

You know to moisten one surface of anything being glued with polyurethane glues, yes?


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## AwayWeGo (Aug 12, 2009)

*The Rest Of The (Earlier) Story.*




ScoopLV said:


> You know to moisten one surface of anything being glued with polyurethane glues, yes?


Click here for the full story of the original music stand repair using Gorilla Glue & self-tapping screws. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Oct 14, 2009)

*Music Stand Fixa-Fixa-Fixa -- The Old Routine Is Getting Boring.*

The kids in the high school band room are busting up the music stands faster than I can fix'm. 

Last week, another music stand turned up minus a leg -- broken off at the spot-welds, as usual.  And, as before, the broken-off leg was nowhere to be found.

This time, I didn't need to ask the manufacturer for a new leg or new stand base.  I was able to do the repair on my own because I had the foresight not to discard the 2-legged stand base left over after an earlier repair when I installed a complete all-new base provided at no cost by the manufacturer (Manhasset Speciality Co.).  

I used a generic Dremel tool to cut through the spot-welds holding 1 of the remaining 2 legs onto the salvaged leftover base, then I attached that leg to the 2-legged base being repaired, using Gorilla Glue & self-tapping screws, as I've managed to do a couple of times before. 

This is not the tidiest repair job you will ever see, but the result is OK & the music stand, which is good to go once again, will be returned to the rehearsal hall this evening in time for band practice.

I still have 1 music stand leg left over that I can use for a future repair job, if needed.  And if necessary, I don't mind asking the company to come through again, in case scavenged repair parts are not on hand when needed.

Waste not, want not.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Oct 14, 2009)

*Repaired Music Stand Back In Service.  Missing Steel Leg Found.*

The most recent Gorilla Glued music stand is back in the band room where it belongs.  

Not only that, the broken-off steel leg that was missing last week turned up tonight.  It was stuck out of sight under a kettle drum.  

Now that it's no longer lost, I'm adding it to the parts boneyard in case it's needed for future music stand repair jobs. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 19, 2013)

*Major Serious Effort Required To Break Gorilla Glue + Screws Music Stand Repair.*




AwayWeGo said:


> The most recent Gorilla Glued music stand is back in the band room where it belongs.


Not sure whether it was the most recent example or was 1 of the earlier Manhasset stands I repaired using Gorilla Glue + self-tapping screws.  In any case, 1 of the music stands fixed that way showed up in the school band room trash can with the formerly repaired leg broken off & hanging by 1 of the 2 screws.  The head of the other screw had broken off.  The rest of that screw was still still tight in the hole. 

My initial assumption was that the repair wasn't as solid as I had believed.  Wrong. 

After I brought the stand home for a repeat repair job & got a closer look, it was clear that the formerly reattached leg did not just fall off because of a bad fix job.  Breaking off the glued-screwed stand leg took such strong, intentional effort (by some unknown someone -- a high school kid, I'm guessing) that the heavy-gauge curved steel top piece which the rounded steel leg fits into had been bent upward about 3/8 inch at the edge.  The thought process had to be, "Hey, let's see how strong this amateur home-brew fix job really is."  The resulting discovery, after the major exertion required to rip the glue bond & snap off a screw head, was _Pretty Damn Strong_.

The redone fix job is a bit different from the original -- JB Weld instead of Gorilla Glue + small nuts & bolts instead of tapping screws.  Maybe that will hold up better.  We'll see.  However it turns out, I don't want the situation to turn into a contest between the stand fixer & the stand buster.  

The best repair method would be welding.  I don't have the equipment or the skill for that, & I have no plans for getting into it.  Glues & cements & epoxies, etc., + screws, etc., will have to do.  Fortunately, music stand repair opportunities don't crop up all that often (so far).  

Anything worth doing is worth doing twice.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (May 14, 2013)

*Goodbye Gorilla Glue.  Hello JB-Weld.*




AwayWeGo said:


> Anything worth doing is worth doing twice.


Another previously screwed & Gorilla Glued music stand needed re-repair.  One of the repair screws was gone & the other was loose.  Without both screws good & tight, Gorilla Glue alone did not hold. 

The re-fix involved reaming out the screw holes to accept heavier short bolts, then coating the space between the stand base & the end of the steel leg with a gob of JB-Weld, inserting the bolts through the 2 holes (& through the gooey epoxy paste), tightening down the nuts good & hard, then covering over the nuts & bolt-ends with excess epoxy paste that squeezed out as the nuts were being tightened.  

We'll see how well that holds up. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Jun 11, 2013)

*Clean Sweep -- 3 Out Of 3 Gorilla Glued Music Stands Needed Re-Fixing.*

After a rained-out evening concert, which was to be held at a county park, my son & I went back to the high school to help unload the equipment truck (kettle drums, chimes, music stand lamps, accessories, & I don't know what-all).  

While we were in the high school band room (where the equipment goes), I took a quick look round to see whether any more music stands needed tightening or repairs.  Sure enough, there was 1 more (the last) previously Gorilla Glued & screwed music stand sitting there with the screws loose & the glued-on leg wobbly.  

I took it home for re-repair using nuts & bolts & JB-Weld, as I had done with 2 other music stands that I earlier had repaired using self-tapping screws & Gorilla Glue. 

Lesson learned.  Three _-- 3 --_ times now.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## rickandcindy23 (Jun 11, 2013)

JB-Weld.  Wonderful product.  Rick used this in our 1984 Ford Bronco, when our clutch pedal was going through the floorboard.  It was a long time ago, but the repair held well.  Then the head of his compound miter saw broke, and it worked for the saw, too.  But he is very careful not to pull the saw down near the weak spot.


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## pedro47 (Jun 11, 2013)

bmann said:


> Grandchildren our special and I could not resist telling this joke.....
> 
> Why do grandparents and grandchildren get along so well???...........................
> 
> ...



Grandkids are very special.   You sometimes can see you kids in your grand children; but more and more you see yourself in your grandkids.


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## TUGBrian (Jun 11, 2013)

love gorilla glue...that stuff is wonderful.

been doing lots of work with cedar recently...I watch way too much HGTV :lol


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## AwayWeGo (Jul 18, 2013)

*Frankenstein Zombie Music Stand.*

At the end of last night's City Of Fairfax Band rehearsal, in the band room of Fairfax High School, I spied a topless Manhasset music stand in the hallway, near the double doors to the rehearsal hall.  The music desk on the stand in the hallway got loose & the desk came off & got lost.  

Seeing the topless music stand reminded me that next to a trash can in the band room was a broken Wenger music stand, complete except that 1 of its 3 plastic legs had broken off & was gone. 

I didn't see any reason not to try attaching the usable plastic music desk of the broken Wenger music stand to the totally OK base & upright of the topless Manhasset music stand.  So I took'm home with me after rehearsal broke up. 

As of this afternoon, the music desk panel off the broken Wenger plastic music stand has been attached to the upright extension tube of the topless Manhasset music stand base.  The semi-tricky job was completed without shedding any blood or causing any collateral damage.

The main difference between Manhasset & Wenger music stands is how the desks attach to the adjustable poles.  Manhassets clamp on.  Wengers bolt on through holes in the tops of the upright poles.  

It wasn't all that hard to drill holes near the top of the Manhasset extension tube, nor to widen the slightly narrower Manhasset tube by wrapping it with tape.  The breakthrough was in figuring out how to insert the Wenger bolt all the way through the holes I drilled through the Manhasset upright tube.  

That simple-sounding step was complicated by the coil spring inside the extension tube.  (The spring is part of the up-down adjustment mechanism.)  To get the bolt through, I had to spread the top spring coils enough to allow the bolt to pass between'm -- easier said than done but not all that difficult, just tedious.

The Frankenstein-Zombie composite Manhasset-Wenger music stand will be returned to the high school band room at rehearsal next week.

Waste not, want not.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Sep 5, 2013)

*Topless Manhasset Meets Bottomless Wenger.*




AwayWeGo said:


> The Frankenstein-Zombie composite Manhasset-Wenger music stand will be returned to the high school band room at rehearsal next week.
> 
> Waste not, want not.


Frankenstein-Zombie music stand is back where it belongs. 

At halftime of last night's season opening band rehearsal, however, I found the upper (desk) portion of the Manhasset music stand whose lower portion now has a Wenger desk attached, thanks to me.  The re-found Manhasset top has no base because the one formerly attached to it was used to create the Frankenstein-Zombie music stand. 

I don't know where the Manhasset desk was when I found the topless Manhasset base & support pole & decided to fix that by rigging a way to attach the desk off the broken Wenger music stand.   _Mox nix_ now.  

Best plan I can think of is to stow the Manhasset top in a remote corner of the instrument storage room, where it will be out of the way but retrievable in case it's needed some day. 

Meanwhile, I bought via internet a new Manhasset music stand neck -- the part that clamps the desk onto the top of the support pole in a way allowing the musician to tilt the desk surface at an angle for best visibility of the sheet music.  A replacement neck is needed for a church music stand used by the Cathedral Brass of Vienna VA, which rehearses & performs at Vienna Presbyterian Church.  I'll do the neck transplant next time I'm there for Cathedral Brass rehearsal.  

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Sep 7, 2013)

*Broken-Neck Manhasset Is Fixed -- Now Good To Go.*




AwayWeGo said:


> I bought via internet a new Manhasset music stand neck -- the part that clamps the desk onto the top of the support pole in a way allowing the musician to tilt the desk surface at an angle for best visibility of the sheet music.  A replacement neck is needed for a church music stand used by the Cathedral Brass of Vienna VA, which rehearses & performs at Vienna Presbyterian Church.  I'll do the neck transplant next time I'm there for Cathedral Brass rehearsal.


Before brass ensemble rehearsal this morning, I retrieved both parts of the music stand whose top would not stay on because the clamp portion of its neck was broken.  The stand parts were all the way in the back of the storage closet, out of the way, & lightly coated in dust because they'd been sitting back there for months. 

Replacement neck installation was straightforward & trouble free.  Only semi-tricky part was getting the extension pole fully inserted into the tight neck socket.  After working with it a bit I declared it inserted OK, then tightened down the nut that squeezes the clamp tight.  

After I cleaned off the dust, the music stand was good to go.  One of the trombonists used it during rehearsal (without even knowing it had been freshly fixed).  After church services tomorrow, it will go back on the rack in the storage closet with all the other church musical paraphernalia.  

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Mar 29, 2014)

*Frankenstein Zombie Music Stand Is Now Just A Zombie.*




AwayWeGo said:


> Best plan I can think of is to stow the Manhasset top in a remote corner of the instrument storage room, where it will be out of the way but retrievable in case it's needed some day.


At a recent Fairfax Band rehearsal, the music stand positioned in front of my chair turned out to be that Frankenstein-Zombie stand with the plastic Wenger desk portion mounted onto a steel Manhasset telescoping base.  It was just the way I had put it together -- except someone had semi-successfully taped up a big crack in the plastic part.  The stand was not cracked when I did the Frankenstein-Zombie repair job.  Apparently the music stands & chairs, etc., get slammed around quite a bit during the school year.  So it goes. 

Fortunately the metal Manhasset desk portion was right where I had stowed it in an out of the way location in the school's instrument storage room.  Using tools I had with me (in my music accessory bag) I took off the cracked plastic part & reinstalled the original metal top part of the music stand.  The job did not take long & I was able to do it on the spot without bringing anything home.  I put the broken Wenger part in the trash. 

Nice to be useful around the rehearsal room. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 11, 2014)

*They Bust'm.   I Fix'm.  So It Goes.*




AwayWeGo said:


> The kids in the high school band room are busting up the music stands faster than I can fix'm.


Last week, when we were at Fairfax Band rehearsal, a trumpet playing friend found a steel leg broken off another high school band music stand. 

After rehearsal this week, I found a music stand missing 1 of its 3 steel legs.  

I brought home the busted stand & arranged to collect the broken-off leg from the trumpet player, with the idea of sticking the parts back together using nuts & bolts & JB-Weld.  (No more Gorilla Glue for fixing music stands -- I learned my lesson the hard way about that application.)

Meanwhile, in rehearsal at a church yesterday with another ensemble, I noticed that the music stand in front of my chair was missing the nut & bolt used to fasten the top to the telescoping extension pole.  I will tuck a nut & bolt & lock-washer into my miscellaneous bag so that if I get that same stand again, I can fix it.  (The church has a couple of dozen music stands, so getting the same 1 next time is not a sure thing, & I don't want to go inspecting all of'm during or after rehearsal.)

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 12, 2014)

*Fixed.*




AwayWeGo said:


> After rehearsal this week, I found a music stand missing 1 of its 3 steel legs.
> 
> I brought home the busted stand & arranged to collect the broken-off leg from the trumpet player, with the idea of sticking the parts back together using nuts & bolts & JB-Weld.


Done.  

Broken off steel leg glued & bolted back on.  Spray-painted black over the new bolt heads & (slight) excess epoxy. 

Couldn't find any JB-Weld.  Had to use some semi-solidified 20-year-old stuff I found way back in the miscellaneous cabinet.  Gouged out some of the epoxy & an equivalent gob of hardener.  Had to zap'm in the microwave to get'm soft enough to mix.  Then I had to work fast while the mixture was still warm.  Managed to get the parts together with a thick layer of fast-hardening epoxy in between, then worked the bolts through the holes & threaded on the nuts.  Screwed the nuts on good & tight.  Coated the nuts & the bolt-ends with the excess epoxy past for good measure.  Let the whole works cure overnight.  Got The Chief Of Staff to spray-paint the leg assembly black out of an aerosol can.  Reattached the stand to the newly repaired base after the paint dried.  Will take the repaired music stand back to the high school rehearsal hall next week.  

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Sep 24, 2014)

*Trumpet Carrying Case Recycling.*




AwayWeGo said:


> Last week, when we were at Fairfax Band rehearsal, a trumpet playing friend found a steel leg broken off another high school band music stand.
> 
> After rehearsal this week, I found a music stand missing 1 of its 3 steel legs.


More recently, somebody deposited an apparently OK trumpet case into the rehearsal room trash can.  I noticed it there when I was in the process of discarding a wad of paper towel.

Turned out the clamshell-style trumpet case was not OK.  One of its 2 molded hinges had broken.  With just 1 working hinge, the case would not hold together securely & thus was no good for trumpet carrying.  (I found that out by taking the case out of the trash receptacle to see why it had been thrown away.)

It also turned out that the bad plastic hinge & its plastic mate that was still OK could be repaired & reinforced by inserting 5 inches of leftover straight AWG-10 copper wire all the way through both halves of both hinges, then bending each of the 4 wire ends into a *J* so the wires won't slide out.  

The trumpet case is good to go.  

Waste not, want not. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Jul 30, 2015)

*Why I'm Not Fixing Any More High School Band Music Stands.*




AwayWeGo said:


> Will take the repaired music stand back to the high school rehearsal hall next week.







hotlinked​
Sometimes a leg comes off a music stand. So I take home the stand & the loose broken off leg & do a solid fix job -- drill through the steel base & the steel leg, re-attach the leg using nuts & bolts & J-B Weld, & take the stand back to the school band room. 

So far so good -- for a while. 

Then the kids notice the repair job & start seeing how hard they have to whang the music stand on the floor to get the bolted & epoxied leg to break off again. 

What happens is the reattached leg stays on but the stand gets whapped so hard that the upright bends. 

My current idea is not to fix any more school music stands. When the kids bust'm up, they can just do without.

Shux upon'm.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Fern Modena (Jul 31, 2015)

Shame on them. The students just don't get it. They don't appreciate the thought, time, and love of music that has gone into every repair. They don't _Deserve_ having the music stands repaired.

I know you were doing this out of your love of music, so it is a shame that the kids didn't appreciate this.

If I am correct in my assessment, then I have a suggestion. Talk to the teacher and ask them to save all the broken stands somewhere. When she notices that this is really putting a cramp on them, she should ask if any of the students would like to learn how to repair the broken ones, I'm guessing they'll respect the repaired ones if they do the repairs.

Oh, and I forgot one thing...the teacher has YOU show the kids how to do the repairs. How does that sound?

Fern


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## DeniseM (Jul 31, 2015)

AwayWeGo said:


> Then the kids notice the repair job & start seeing how hard they have to whang the music stand on the floor to get it to break off again.
> 
> What happens is the reattached leg stays on but the stand gets whapped so hard that the upright bends.



WHERE is the teacher when this is going on?  Students are never supposed to be unsupervised in classrooms - this should not be happening.


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