Gluing sound board cracks back to ribs.

[Richard Brekne]

Hi Richard

I just got done with one of these jobs in December.. I wrote a bit about it on
the list. This puppy had a really nasty sound board curl. Someone had tried
earlier to "fix" the soundboard with screws and there were over a hundred and
fifty wood screws trying to hold the panel onto the ribs.. needless to say
they failed misserably.

But what I did was simply remove the screws.. force the panel out into severe
crown, bore 6mm holes deep into the ribs where the screws had been and dowl
these. As far as the curl was concerened.. I bored 8mm holes right on thru the
ribs and worked as much wood glue into the space between the ribs and pannels,
then ran a bolt through a 6 inch or so long piece of  2X4-- through the panel
and rib and cinched the panel flat. This caused another crack in the panel
which i shimmed up along with the rest.

This was a mercy job so neither I or the customer was too worried about the
chance for success, but as it turned out the piano sounds decent enough.
Suprisingly so actually, tho it definatly has seen better days.

A board so badly curled should be replaced ideally,,, but if all you need out
of it is a solid panel and a pianer that can be tuned and played on without
much need for super quality sound well... what the heck.. Not the kinda job I
do for  money for tho..

Richard Moody wrote:

> The problem is a cracked soundboard, and one side of the crack has
> pulled away from the rib about as far as to slip a business card
> through if it were cut in half.    This is in a full sized upright,
> player piano actually.  I must make any repair from the rib side.
>
>         The repair I am most familiar is drilling a pilot hole through the
> rib and SB, then drilling a body hole through the rib, stopping the
> bit with ground down hack saw blade, or old palette knife. Then
> smearing glue into the crack with the thin blade and running the
> screw in.
>         Schaff (new catalog) offers a "sound board toggle" p 82.    Do I
> understand  these are left in the piano after the repair is
> completed?  Or is there a way to remove them and fill the access
> hole with a dowel? On p. 62 is a "soundboard repair clamp".  (wire,
> locking nut and wingnut) But this looks like one must have access
> to both sides of the soundboard.  Is this correct?   Both of these
> appeal to me because it looks like they can draw the seperation
> together with more strength than a screw through a 1/4 inch of
> spruce.
>         If any one has used these repairs and can advise, I would be most
> grateful.  Or perhaps there is something out there I am not aware
> of.   I know of the repair in Reblitz using thin bolts and washers
> but  that needs access to both sides which I do not have. On p.
> 128, illus. 7-14 is the exact problem I am facing. One side of the
> crack has curled away, the other seems intact.  Should I screw down
> the other side to be safe?  ---ric

--
Richard Brekne
Associate PTG, N.P.T.F.
Bergen, Norway