Crack in Steinway rim

[JIMRPT@aol.com]

Larry;
  Larry I have seen cracks like this before, mostly on older Steinways, and
occasionally on other makes. Every time that I have tried to determine if the
rim (outside) was compromised I found the the rim was in good condition and
that the cracks involved just the surface veneers. One way to determine if
this is the case would be to use a long bar clamp from the uncracked side to
the cracked side and start putting pressure on the clamp to see whether the
crack widens.
 In any event since the crack is in an area above the inner rim I don't feel
that it would affect the tonal quality of this instrument to any significant
extent, if at all.  Due to the laminated constructiuon of the rim it is
highly unlikely for the rim to be split and show no other significant damage.
Have your friend check for inner and outer rim seperation also.
Just my opinion.
Jim B. (FL)