Baldwin Rim Construction

[jolly roger]

At 12:05 PM 7/28/01 -0400, you wrote:
>Hello Del - other Baldin expert (or nearly so):
>
>I am looking at a 1979 Baldwin R for a close friend. I understand that in
>the 20s, rims were all hard maple and now they are all maple. But sometime
>during the 1960s? 70s? 80s? Baldwin went to poplar or whatever inner and/or
>outer rims material. What were they doing in 1979??????

Hi Terry,
            I am not sure of the dateof of the change over, but my best
guess is that the outer rim is poplar.  Most times you can tell by a  line
in the finish on the arms of the cabinet.  The two materials expand and
contract at different rates, with moisture changes.  In 79 the  cross band
veneers were thicker than later models.  The complete switch, back to maple
on all models happened by early 2000.  SD and SF the year before.

You can check with the point of a pocket knife, from the underside of the
rim.  The poplar is soft by camparison.  If you do a detailed regulation
and service, it should be a nice piano.  I service a lot of very nice R's
from this vintage.

(or nearly so)
Roger