Removing bridge caps

[Michael Spalding]

David,

My mentor/part-time-employer, Tim Dixon RPT, taught me his method for
re-capping, and I have done a few for him in the last two years.

One tool that can make planing down a bridge cap a little less of a pain in
the @$$, is a scrub plane.   It removes material much faster than a
conventional plane.   Lee Valley has a nice one at 
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=46873&category=1,41182&ccurrency
=2&SID=

As you get close to the joint, use progressively more precise planes:  a
smaller scrub plane (or adjust the big one for a shallower cut, then a 10"
block plane, and finally a small low angle block plane.  With the low angle
plane adjusted for extremely thin shavings, and well sharpened, you can get
to the point where you can see the dark brown of the hide glue joint
through a translucent layer of cap wood - just the faintest trace of wood
grain on top of the glue.  At this point, either scrape or steam.  I prefer
just scraping, since the steam raises grain and flushes glue and crud down
the bridge pin holes.

Some pianos (M&H) are much easier to do this way than others (Yamaha).  A
lot depends on the uniformity of the original cap grain.  But if it works,
you end up with a very level foundation requiring only minimal additional
fitting to the new cap.

hope this helps

Mike Spalding RPT

> [Original Message]
> From: David Love <davidlovepianos@earthlink.net>
> To: Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Date: 7/20/2003 4:17:13 PM
> Subject: Removing bridge caps
>
> What are the best ways people have found to remove an old bridge cap
> (attached to the board) when one wants to preserve the maximum amount of
> bridge root, i.e., separating the body from the cap at the joint.  I have
> planed them down in the past.  I recall seeing a jig to hold a router bit
> that straddled the bridge as well which I have not used (and don't recall
> the exact design).  But I have never tried to take the cap off at the old
> joint.  Can this be done effectively by, say, planing down near the joint
> and steaming it to loosen what is probably hide glue (1923).  Or might
this
> potentially compromise the vertical laminations of the root?
>
>
> David Love
> davidlovepianos@earthlink.net
>
>
>
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