A.B.Chase soundboard

[Joseph Garrett]

Greg,
There really isn't any secret to what S&S USED  to use on their soundboards.
They had a guy with a big bucket and paint brush to match, filled with High
Grade Spar Varnish. He would come around and slather that stuff on and go
away to the next board. Did that all day, every day. :-) Never heard of them
using shellac, tho it might have been in earlier years, as that was the
accepted way of coating wood. (ie shellac, sand, varnish, sand varnish and
rub out.)
Regards,
Joe Garrett
----- Original Message -----
From: "Greg Newell" <gnewell@ameritech.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2001 3:17 PM
Subject: Re: A.B.Chase soundboard


> Joe,
>     Thanks for this food for thought. An important little morsel it is
too! I
> wouldn't want to try and fool someone completely but I wouldn't want the
repair
> to stand out either. Got to be a happy medium somewhere. You must try and
color
> the shim somewhat, no? It sure would seem strange to see an obviously
white
> strand running through an otherwise uniform board.
>     Were most boards shellaced from a natural state or were there any dyes
used
> originally? I've been reading about the advantages of using dyes to even
out the
> coloration in woods and was wondering if they were commonly used in
soundboards.
> Every soundboard I've ever seen has had a mostly uniform appearance. I
read that
> stains usually are blotchy in pine, birch, maple and cherry. Since spruce
is
> sort of in the pine family I was wondering what if anything was used. I'm
> guessing that it was just natural with a topcoat of shellac. Can anyone
confirm
> this?
>     This brings to mind a recent conversation with Bill Wurdack from whom
many
> of us, it seems, buy bronzing powder for plates. Bill mentioned that they
supply
> not only the bronzing powder that Steinway uses but every other finishing
> product they use as well. The only exception  is the coating S&S uses for
the
> soundboard as this is some kind of top secret (shhhhhhhhh) formula. This
is what
> caused me to have the questions from above. Now what could be so important
as to
> top coats that would alter the sound enough to make S&S have a  completely
> different company supplying only that one finishing product? Seems kinda
> strange. I wonder if they can actually quantify a difference between using
what
> they are now (and probably have for years) and virtually anything else.
And here
> we thought it was the diaphramatic soundboard that made the difference.
>     Well, perhaps I've given some something to ponder. Any takers out
there?
>
> Greg
>
> Joseph Garrett wrote:
>
> > Greg,
> > IMHO Bleaching not only will compromise the glue jointl, but will attack
the
> > wood itself. It has been my policy, for years, to make it look as nice
as
> > possible, but not to "hide" the repair. I had an instance with a 9'
Knabe,
> > where someone had put a faux finish on both sides of the board, after
they
> > had shimmed. I made the estimate to shim the board, based on the
existing
> > cracks, etc. When the board was scraped, after the shims were inserted,
it
> > revealed all of the many shims previously installed. If I could have
seen
> > those previously installed shims, I would have most definately
recommended a
> > new board to the client. However, since I was already hip deep and
> > committed, that did not happen. The end product was less than
acceptable,
> > all because someone else covered the work. :-(
> > Regards,
> > Joe Garrett
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Greg Newell" <gnewell@ameritech.net>
> > To: "Pianotech forum" <pianotech@ptg.org>; "Master Piano Tech"
> > <mpt@talklist.com>; "College and University Technicians" <caut@ptg.org>
> > Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2001 8:30 AM
> > Subject: A.B.Chase soundboard
> >
> > > Dear Lists,
> > >     Now you may think me incredibly slow but I've finally completed
> > > shimming the soundboard. I've been having trouble conceptualizing how
to
> > > match the shims to the rest of the board. If I bleach the board to
even
> > > it out do I not risk compromising the glue joints? If I take the
shading
> > > approach is there a favorite way you folks out there approach it? I'm
> > > hoping to play with this today so anything you say can and may be used
> > > by me soon! Thanks in advance for your help.
> > >
> > > Greg
> > >
> > > --
> > > Greg Newell
> > > Greg's Piano Forté
> > > 12970 Harlon Ave.
> > > Lakewood, Ohio 44107
> > > 216-226-3791
> > > mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net
> > >
> > >
>
> --
> Greg Newell
> Greg's Piano Forté
> 12970 Harlon Ave.
> Lakewood, Ohio 44107
> 216-226-3791
> mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net
>
>