Repair of an 1800's wood-framed upright piano... what glue?

[alfred]

I have an 1840 upright which is of the same type as Chopin used to use.

I got it for relatively cheap and it arrived with a cracked left leg, but it is a historic instrument with potential worth.

the crack makes the leg move side to side and runs half way up the side of the piano.

anyway the crack has been repaired before with some blackish hide-glue and a few dowels unsuccessfully.

the problem lies in the fact that the crack is not totally accessable, the wood is oxidized and somewhat dirty with dust and glue.

I can clamp it together alright but I am not sure hide glue will stick properly to the surface..since it is not a fresh crack..

should I go for hide glue anyway or should I use titebond?

should I crack the leg off and clean the crack with warm water etc?

any tips on what I can do??

[Chris Friesen]

New hide glue will stick to old hide glue. However, with dust and dirt and crap in there I'd be tempted to try and wash it out with warm water first.

I'd probably stay away from yellow glues as they would be very difficult to re-glue if it cracked again.

I'm no expert, so I'm curious to see what the others have to say.

Chris

[alfred]

I have tried using hide glue but since the joint is relatively wide and long (cracked off) the hide glue cools off too fast before I can clamp it properly.

I tried adding water and making the hide glue thinner but no go.

so I was thinking titebond would be better.

but one problem I do have is that any thickness due to the glue not squeezing out makes it so that the joint is misaligned..

how should I approach the problem with titebond?

how much time have I got before titebond loses adhesive qualities?

[Larry Blanchard]

Try the liquid hide glue. Not quite as strong, but plenty strong enough.