On July 21, 1996 John von Rohr wrote: > 5. Drill carefully, it is easy to move the guide rail slightly if the > holes are not drilled dead on. Why not just mark the location of the holes on the new guide rail, make some indications on the belly of the location of the guide rail (side-to- side and front-to-back), then take the guide rail to the drill press, drill out and counter-bore the holes (on the top), take the guide rail back to the soundboard, center locate the holes on the soundboard (use your imagination--there are many ways to do this), pull the guide rail aside and drill out the soundboard holes, then screw in the new guide rail? I've done it this way successfully. Trying to drill the holes in the piano is risky because, unless you move strings *completely* out of harm's way (the drill bit), you could mung up the wire and unless you clamp the guide rail *very well*, you're likely to get some "diggings" (wood bits being pulled out) between the rail and the board, possibly causing the rail to move slightly. Besides, it's easier to get nice, clean holes on a drill press. Just my $0.02. Ron Torrella Check out The Piano Page at: Asst. Piano Technician http://www.prairienet.org/arts/ptg/homepage.html University of Michigan Provided in cooperation with Prairienet.
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC