In the June 1980 Journal is an article on repairing a broken plate with something called metalstitch. That could be it. Ted Simmons >In an old PTG journal (about 20 years ago) there was an article with >photos about repairing cracks in iron frames. From memory, the method >used in that instant was very similar. Holes drilled and threaded and >screws inserted. The piano tuner who did this was from South Australia. >(thats the country down under) >Can't remember his name but maybe some oldtimer who has got all the old >editions of the Journal on the list will remember the article and be able >to look it up. > >I have found through my years of working on pianos that many seemingly >new ideas and concepts have been done before, and we are now rediscovering >them. > >Regards > >Tony Caught caute@accessnt.com.au > -----Original Message----- > From: Robert Goodale <Robert.Goodale@NAU.EDU> > To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org> > Date: Wednesday, 16 December 1998 3:33 > Subject: EXTRA! EXTRA! Plate Repairs- THIS COULD BE IT! > > > While at Yamaha an amazing new method for repairing cracked piano was >shared by another member of the group. This is a completely new technique >and is unlike anything previously discussed. This group member also >brought a video tape for show and tell which put everyone in awe. Even >LeRoy was dumbfounded and is now wanting more information. > This is no joke folks, read on... > > This crack repair method was developed originally for repairing >cracked cast iron engine blocks and other heavy machinery. It involves no >welding whatsoever. Instead a series of very specially designed screws >are inserted into the crack which quite literally pull the crack together >stronger than it was before. When the repair is complete it is almost >invisable. This may sound to good to be true but the tape demonstrates >this clearly. Two flat pieces of cast iron were fastened together in a >butt joint by a single one of these screws, and was then hooked on each >end with a heavy chain. The chain was then connected to a wench which >lifted a 350 pound engine block. The bond held perfectly. A complete >series of pins overlapping in a crack seals the crack permanently and >stronger than it was originally. On bench tests these repairs were shown >to be completely air tight at 80 PSI. > > Ok, so here's how it works. The screws are designed to dig in to the >cast iron. They must go into a pre-drilled hole using a special bit. The >holes are also taped. The secrete is in the screw threads which are cupped >sharply upward. The top half of the screw has a countersunk collar which >pulls tightly into the hole in the opposing direction of the cupped >threads. The screw is driven into the cast iron using an air drill until >the torque breaks of the head. The result is that the cast iron is >clamped tightly together *internally*. A series of these screws are >installed to follow the crack side by side. Then an overlapping series of >screws are inserted in a second pass. The remains of the torqued-off heads >are ground away smooth. No welding, no mess. This type of repair can >even be made inside the piano without plate removal. There are several >types of these special screws which can be used on various types of >cracks, even on angles or in corners. They are also available in various >lengths. The video presentation was extremely convincing and had us >talking about it for the remainder of the week. > > This group member's local chapter recently decided to try this repair >as a joint project. The inventor of this technique was personally present >and assisted in explaining and then demonstrated the repair. This >proceedure is brand new and this was the first such repair made on a >piano. I think we can all pretty much expect to hear a lot about this >very soon. > > This repair system is called the "CastMaster" by a company called >Lock-N-Stitch. They do have a web page. Check it out and be amazed. > > Lock-N-Stitch > > Follow the link to "Information about Cast Master". After you've read >the text and looked at the pics, go to the link that demonstrates the >complete repair. > > Enjoy! > > Rob Goodale, RPT > > ><!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> ><HTML> ><HEAD> > ><META content=text/html;charset=iso-8859-1 http-equiv=Content-Type> ><META content='"MSHTML 4.72.3026.0"' name=GENERATOR> ></HEAD> ><BODY bgColor=#ffffff> ><DIV><FONT color=#000000>Robert,</FONT></DIV> ><DIV><FONT color=#000000></FONT> </DIV> ><DIV><FONT color=#000000>Firstly, I am not knocking the idea as it appears >to be >a vast improvement on the original but,</FONT></DIV> ><DIV><FONT color=#000000></FONT> </DIV> ><DIV>In an old PTG journal (about 20 years ago) there was an article with >photos >about repairing cracks in iron frames. From memory, the method >used >in that instant was very similar. Holes drilled and threaded and screws >inserted. The piano tuner who did this was from South Australia. (thats >the country down under)</DIV> ><DIV>Can't remember his name but maybe some oldtimer who has got all the old >editions of the Journal on the list will remember the article and be able to >look it up.</DIV> ><DIV> </DIV> ><DIV>I have found through my years of working on pianos that many >seemingly new ideas and concepts have been done before, and we are now >rediscovering them.</DIV> ><DIV> </DIV> ><DIV>Regards</DIV> ><DIV> </DIV> ><DIV>Tony Caught <A >href="mailto:caute@accessnt.com.au">caute@accessnt.com.au</A> </DIV> ><BLOCKQUOTE >style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 solid 2px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"> > <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><B>-----Original Message-----</B><BR><B>From: > </B>Robert Goodale <<A > >href="mailto:Robert.Goodale@NAU.EDU">Robert.Goodale@NAU.EDU</A>><BR><B>T >o: > </B><A href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> <<A > href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A>><BR><B>Date: > </B>Wednesday, 16 December 1998 3:33<BR><B>Subject: </B>EXTRA! EXTRA! >Plate > Repairs- THIS COULD BE IT!<BR><BR></DIV></FONT>While at Yamaha an amazing > new method for repairing cracked piano was shared by another member of the > group. This is a completely new technique and is unlike anything > previously discussed. This group member also brought a video >tape for > show and tell which put everyone in awe. Even LeRoy was dumbfounded > and is now wanting more information. > <P>This is no joke folks, read on... > <P>This crack repair method was developed originally for repairing cracked > cast iron engine blocks and other heavy machinery. It involves no > welding whatsoever. Instead a series of very specially designed >screws > are inserted into the crack which quite literally pull the crack together > stronger than it was before. When the repair is complete it is >almost > invisable. This may sound to good to be true but the tape >demonstrates > this clearly. Two flat pieces of cast iron were fastened >together in a > butt joint by a single one of these screws, and was then hooked on >each end > with a heavy chain. The chain was then connected to a wench which > lifted a 350 pound engine block. The bond held perfectly. A > complete series of pins overlapping in a crack seals the crack permanently > and stronger than it was originally. On bench tests these >repairs were > shown to be completely air tight at 80 PSI. > <P>Ok, so here's how it works. The screws are designed to dig in to > the cast iron. They must go into a pre-drilled hole using a special > bit. The holes are also taped. The secrete is in the screw threads >which are > cupped sharply upward. The top half of the screw has a countersunk > collar which pulls tightly into the hole in the opposing direction of the > cupped threads. The screw is driven into the cast iron using an air > drill until the torque breaks of the head. The result is that >the cast > iron is clamped tightly together *internally*. A series of these > screws are installed to follow the crack side by side. Then an > overlapping series of screws are inserted in a second pass. The remains of > the torqued-off heads are ground away smooth. No welding, no > mess. This type of repair can even be made inside the piano without > plate removal. There are several types of these special screws which > can be used on various types of cracks, even on angles or in >corners. > They are also available in various lengths. The video >presentation was > extremely convincing and had us talking about it for the remainder of the > week. > <P>This group member's local chapter recently decided to try this >repair as > a joint project. The inventor of this technique was personally >present > and assisted in explaining and then demonstrated the repair. This > proceedure is brand new and this was the first such repair made on a > piano. I think we can all pretty much expect to hear a lot about >this > very soon. > <P>This repair system is called the "CastMaster" by a company > called Lock-N-Stitch. They do have a web page. Check it >out and > be amazed.<A href="http://www.locknstitch.com/"></A> > <P><A href="http://www.locknstitch.com/">Lock-N-Stitch</A> > <P>Follow the link to "Information about Cast Master". >After > you've read the text and looked at the pics, go to the link that > demonstrates the complete repair. > <P>Enjoy! > <P>Rob Goodale, RPT </P></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
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