Newbie question: Are bridle straps necessary?

[Clyde Hollinger]

Jeff,

>From a service standpoint, the main reason I want the bridle straps to be
intact is that some actions are quite a pain to get back in after removing
them, if a number of the straps are torn.  This can wreak havoc on the day's
schedule, if I need to replace a set at the drop of a hat because the action
suddenly has to be removed for some reason (torn string maybe?).

Since it's your own piano, a problem that may pop up because the bridle straps
are torn isn't likely to be time-critical for you.  But if you're going to
keep the piano for any length of time, why not replace them all and be done
with it?  It only takes an hour if you have the proper tool, which is
inexpensive.

Regards,
Clyde

boller3@icubed.com wrote:

> Hi everybody --
>
> I recently picked up an old Stultz & Bauer upright and am getting it into
> shape to be used as a honky tonk (tack) piano in my home studio.
>
> In the course of fixing things up inside the piano, several of the bridle
> straps broke from brittleness. My question is, is it absolutely necessary
> to replace the bridle straps? From what I understand, the main purpose of
> the bridle straps are to keep the jacks from dropping when the action of
> the piano is taken out. If the keys appear to work fine without the bridle
> straps, I assume they will continue to be OK...?
>
> Thanks in advance...
>
> -Jeff
>
> P.S.: Sorry if this is a dumb question; I am a total newbie when it comes
> to fixing/tuning pianos.
>
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