Freezing pianos/cracked plates

[John Ross]

Hi Terry,
The reason the plate cracks, is because the pinblock has seperated.
Check the plate to lid edge and make sure it is even. Another indication of
seperation is, the dampers don't lift off the strings as much as they
should. Another is, when you attempt a pitch raise, it goes back toward
where it was, more than normal. And one final check is to feel the back
edges, and make sure all the wood edges are lined up.
If any of the above, are present, remove the screws or lag bolts, after
supporting the plate to block with large clamps. Drill to accept 3/8"
carriage bolts. Oh yes you have to remove the top, and draw the block back
with epoxy in the space, till it squeezes out.
You can then safely, bring it up to pitch. It is not the freezing that
causes the problem.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
John M. Ross
----- Original Message -----
From: Terry Beckingham <beckingt@mb.sympatico.ca>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2000 12:36 AM
Subject: Re: Freezing pianos/cracked plates


Conrad,

Actually -21 F is about -29 C, so that's getting pretty cold.

Normally I wouldn't worry about the cold cracking a plate, but I have been
told by several who are knowledgeable about Dohertys that they have a
tendency to crack plates when the pitch is brought up too high. I'm sure
that the pitch will go way up with the drastic temperature change.

A new customer just had her piano delivered today and was advised by the
mover not to take the blankets off it for a couple of days to avoid the
frost problem.

Cheers

Terry Beckingham

At 09:25 PM 1/21/00 -0600, you wrote:

>I also have seen 2 S&S Ds come off a truck and immediately turn white.  The
>-25°F they had enjoyed overnight didn't faze them, I had fun keeping up
with
>the melting frost, though, and I didn't even try to tune them before they
>were close to room temp.  (BTW, I guess the -21°F we had this morning
>probably seems balmy to you, eh?)
>
>
>Conrad Hoffsommer     mailto:hoffsoco@luther.edu
>
>Chi si ferma è perduto.
>
>