I have a nice set of pictures of shimming and re-attaching the board to ribs at the crack. I would be happy to send them to you if you would like. I think the bottom line for your situation is that almost ANY board can be saved/shimmed/re-glued (among these are boards that many would argue should be replaced). AND, almost any piano over 50 years old would benefit from a new board at time of restringing. So, where does your piano lie? I believe it mostly depends on a combination of the following factors, listed roughly in the order of importance: how much is the piano owner willing to spend, what are they piano looking for in a piano (for looks only, so Susie six-year-old can start taking lessons someday, or do they play well), is the piano replaceable (is it a family heirloom or some other no-other-piano-will-do situation), what is the condition of the board/bridges (what is crown & downbearing status), how much the piano is worth (or could be worth), and where your standards lie. These are decisions you and your customer need to make. I believe the customer should be an integral part of this decision. Terry Farrell Piano Tuning & Service Tampa, Florida mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Greg Newell" <gnewell@ameritech.net> To: "Pianotech, forum" <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2001 11:31 PM Subject: Was it something I said? > Greetings fellow listees, > About a week agao I post this message and only had two people > respond. I really could use some more opinions so I'll try posting this > again. Please take a moment to respond. I really could use your advice! > > Greg > > Greetings folks, > > I need the advice of you treasured people who are so kind to find > > the time to teach those clueless people like myself. > > I took in a piano for a customer who was having a property of > theirs > > demolished and needed to get the piano out in a hurry. She is having > and > > A.B.Chase (early 20's vintage) refinished, restrung, and action > > overhauled for her family. I have had this piano in my home for about > > three months acting as a big surface upon which to gather many many > > useless items. I recently was preparing to begin the restringing > process > > and took down the tension on all the strings and removed the bass > > strings. I plan to have Newton redesign the scale for this while , > > hopefully teaching me how to do it for future piano I may inflict my > > talents upon. Since I took down the tension about a week ago I found > > something rather startling. What began as one very shim able but not > yet > > seperated crack in the board has now become 6 or more two of which > have > > separated from the ribs at spots and are wide enough to see daylight > > through. I would call the main crack to be about thick enough to slip > a > > thin guitar pick through. This particular one has the wood being > uneven > > on both side of the crack indicating it's separation from the ribs. > > Naturally this big one is right through the center of the board. > > I'd like the opinion of this list as to whether these cracks can > or > > should be repaired or is it time for another board? I've never left > > tension off a piano for this long before. Did I do a no no? If it is > > your opinion that a new board and bridges are necessary then how would > > > you go about telling the customer of this added cost? Do you know > anyone > > in the Cleveland, OH area of perhaps PA area that you can recommend to > > > install a new board and do a job I could be proud to offer? Are there > > any pitfalls along the way I should look out for? What could I expect > to > > pay for a board and bridges? > > I've only subcontracted once before and I got bit really bad that > > time so I'm really gun shy. Thank you for the time and effort to > > respond. I hope the coming days, months, and years bring you all > > continued growth and prosperity. > > > > Greg > > > > -- > Greg Newell > Greg's Piano Forté > 19270 Harlon Ave. > Lakewood, Ohio 44107 > 216-226-3791 > mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net > >
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