More cut-off bar questions

[Robin Hufford]

Hello Ron,
    Nearly all of the cut-off bars I have seen on uprights have been
what
you describe - the Clayton variety.  Similarly the case with grands,
although occasionally one sees a cut-off bar attached to the beams, I
think, as you describe.
     Along this line I have recently looked at the cut-off bars on the
Wissner upright which I posted to on this thread six or eight weeks ago,
and Wissner does indeed use these features.  There is a large section in
the upper left corner in which a diagonally placed bar, approximately
three inches wide and one and a quarter inches thick cuts off a large
area of the sound board extending about 16 inches along a diagonal  line
drawn from this corner to the opposite one.  The ribs are let into this
cut-off bar, and terminate in it.  The bar, which is normal to the
diagonal and thus defines a fairly large area of the board in this
corner, appears to be a solid piece.   On the opposite corner a smaller
section is cut-off not by a bar but by a gusset shaped piece that
appears
to be about one and a half inches thick, extending from the vertex along
the bottom of the board for about eight inches and up the side of the
board for approximately 25 or so, and then connected from the two ends.  
  The sound of this piano, while not of the timbre per se that my ear 
favors best, must be heard to be
comprehended both as regards power, ringtime and attributes which one
might consider as "grand like".    And this in its present, unrebuilt
condition.
     Another interesting feature of the piano is the plate which
contains
a flange fitted pinblock that is blocked up off the back.  Spacers
occupy
a space analagous to the action cavity on a grand but only and inch or
so deep,
and carry the screws into the back from the front of the block.  Another
is a Capo
d'Astro that extends across the entire length of the piano.
     I intend to take some pictures of a Sohmer grand with the agraffed
bridge later this month as per your request of some time ago and get
them
to you.
     In my opinion there is no better termination system devised than
this system for pianos, which I believe also has been used by several
European
manufacturers in the past.  Others will no doubt disagree but, to me,
this is immediately made apparent by the far superior ringtime and power
of these kinds of systems.   The conventional pinned bridge is, as far
as
I can see, a masterpiece of compromise whose fundamental aim is
cost-efficiency first and foremost,  termination efficiency second, and,
perhaps, tradition third.   And it is a very poor second at that as
regards 
the termination function.
     Steinway's traditional term for this bar, in the past,  has been
"Closing rim"  and this often cut-off a space where the board was
entirely absent and was used on numerous pianos.
Regards,  Robin Hufford

Overs Pianos wrote:

> >What is a Clayton's cut-off?
> >
> >  Calin Tantareanu
>
> Around thirty years ago, when I was finishing school, Claytons Tonic
> was the non-alcoholic drink folks would take if they weren't into the
> real stuff.
>
> Similarly, the 'Claytons cut-off' is the one which isn't attached to
> the back beams. Should one be completely overcome by the urge to use
> an unattached cut-off, you might as well save the wood unless the
> sales folks are short of speel.
>
> I don't know if the tonic is still made, but there's certainly no
> shortage of Claytons cut-offs to be had.
>
> Ron O.
> --
>
> OVERS PIANOS - SYDNEY
>       Grand Piano Manufacturers
>       _______________________
>
> Web http://overspianos.com.au
> mailto:ron@overspianos.com.au
>       _______________________
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives