John: I just finished a full board and block replacement and bridge recap on an 1872 Steinway E1 scale. My opinion is that doing any significant bridge work on these pianos requires removing the plate and resetting the bearing with the new bridge. If you can do it without removing the sides of the case, then you ought to think about that; getting the plate out and in is a snap if you get the keybed out of the way and have the tackle to raise it. It doesn't take much indexing since there are corner slots for the plate mortised in. Good luck. PR-J
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC