"The board is dead flat across the bass bridge and lower tenor bridge (as measured from the top and confirmed on the bottom)."
Is this measured with strings on and up to pitch? Or is it flat with no strings. What is crown in other areas of board?
"I have no intention of condemning this piano."
Recapping is fixing, not comdemning.
Terry Farrell
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Bellieu" <sbellieu@mindspring.com>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 7:00 PM
Subject: Re: Bridgetop Extravaganza Revisited
Greg,
It's definitely quartersawn. I don't think it's a candidate for recapping for two reasons. The board is dead flat across the bass bridge and lower tenor bridge (as measured from the top and confirmed on the bottom). Also I have learned the piano was purchased by the client new some 16 yrs ago. I have no intention of condemning this piano. It sounded ok before. Not spectacular bass but I have heard much worse. I'm anticipating tight new bridge pins are going to contribute to tonal improvement up higher.
I'm wondering about the bearing in the bottom of the piano. How it was originally set. Strung it showed a full 1.5 deg across the bass bridge and almost nothing on the bottom two feet of the tenor bridge.(also no front bearing in both of these locations) Is this what flattened out the tail ? If I relieve some of the bearing across the bass bridge will this improve the situation? I'm used to seeing older pianos with little bearing on the bass bridge. Opinions?
Steve Bellieu
P.S. Thanks for all the welcomes. I know some of you and recognize lots of other names from Journal articles and tips.
----- Original Message -----
From: Greg Newell
To: Pianotech
Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 12:32 PM
Subject: Re: Bridgetop Extravaganza Revisited
Steve,
Now that you've decided to pull the plate I would strongly recommend simply recapping the bridge with quarter sawn material unlike the flat sawn junk you'll be removing. I' ve never seen quarter sawn material dented as badly as you describe, even by well meaning newbies with a hammer and screwdriver. A couple runners on the router and skin off the old cap. Put on a quarter sawn cap of good solid material. Re - drill, notch and restring. I'll lay odds you'll be greatly pleased with the result!!!
Greg Newell
P.S. Welcome to the list!!!
At 05:13 AM 12/18/2002, you wrote:
Hi All,
Just joined, first post to this or any other group. Serendipitous timing, just read all the recent bridgetop/ bridgepin posts. Have a 1985 Stwy D in the shop for action overhaul and restring. I thought I was noticeing something funny about the bridges but was in denial until I started taking all the teardown notes. The plain wire strings have been pounded (seated) into the bridge so that at the edges there is more wire diameter below the bridge top than above it. When viewed from the side the wire makes a pronounced curve up onto the bridge and down again out the rear making accurate component readings impossible to do from on top of the wire. It was showing negative front bearing until I realized what was happening and started using the actual bridgetop as reference. Situation is most severe at capo sections and diminishes down to what looks like normal grooves to me under the bass strings. Deflection in strung piano is .5 deg at bottom of low capo, 1-1.5 deg rest of capo sweeping up to 2.5 deg at note 88. There is .250" crown at low capo. (measured from top of board)
Is it possible this condition is due to the quality of the capping material? I usually work on much older instruments. I have never seen string cuts like this. Also the various pressures have caused dead wood to swell up and check here and there around the terminations. Again I'm not used to seeing this. Inspection of the pins under magnification shows the string resided in two distinct locations. My theory: Pre- and Post Pounding. There are also a lot of unexplainable nicks on the side of the pins. The pins pull out easily. No cracks to speak of. This is an institutional piano which has probably been in Southern California its whole life.
What I'm thinking about doing is similar to what Dale Erwin just posted. I've never done the epoxy bridge thing but I'm familiar with the nasty stuff. I'm imagining thickening it enough with colloidal silica so it won't run down the notches or too much into the holes and applying it with a small spatula. I want to fill those deep grooves (at least on the speaking side) and then sand the top flat. If I put the stuff on in the morning can I pare/renotch and redrill at the end of the day before it gets too hard and while I can still find the original holes?
Looking forward to peoples responses.
I want to stop using the misnomer "string seating" in favor of wire straightening (or something similar) which is what I do at a low lateral angle (around the bridges anyway). I have never been convinced of the need of downward tapping pressure at the bridges. For some reason this is one of the first things new technicians are taught and the thought of them going around with little hammers and pounding on pianos scares me. We straighten wire for control of damper and hammer contact and for quick stabilization of new strings. Perhaps having the wire come straight out of the bridge helps the string to vibrate in a more perpendicular plane even. I don't really know. After you take a few pianos apart you find that even in a negative bearing situation the angled pins hold the string tight to the bridge. If there is so much negative bearing that they don't then no amount of pounding will hold them there. But I guess that is another thread. Right now I need help getting out of this mess. I have finally accepted I have to pull the plate. So much for the quick restring of a fairly new instrument.
Thanks, Steve Bellieu
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Greg Newell
mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net
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