Tightening the plate...

[Frank Weston]

Richard wrote:

>Grin... Frank da.... of course one should excercise due care, and one
should
>know what one is doing,, that being said.. if the screws are indeed
loose... and
>if you are in possession of such judgement skills that you know that they
are
>loose... then they need tightening.... or what ????  This is not so
difficult to
>figure out really. As with everything else we do, we need to know when and
when
>not to do a thing, and then how to go about it.


Correct me if I am mistaken, but wasn't the original questioner asking how
he should tighten the screws and what measuring tools might be required?

" What is the proper method for tightening plate screws, and do I need some
kind of tool to measure the amount of torque?"

Since he obviously did not have the requisite knowledge and/or skill to
determine the answer for himself on a situation by situation basis, then
maybe he would be better off leaving them alone.  Further, while many of the
responses contained good advice, I didn't see any responses that gave a
universally applicable answer to the question.  An answer that could be
safely practiced in all situations.

Don't tighten the plate screws unless you are absolutely certain that you
will be doing no damage and you know that the result will be to restore the
plate to proper position.   You must be able to determine what proper
position is and then to determine how your tightening will move the plate
closer to that position.  You must also be aware of the current dimension of
the wood involved as well as what the dimension was when the screws were
installed and will be six months from now.  This is a pretty tall order for
a newbie working on his first floor tunings on new pianos.  I ask again:
Why would you want to tighten plate screws?

Frank Weston