old Bechstein plate

[Paul Mulik]

Hello list,

Last week I posted a message about what to expect from an old Bechstein
grand; thanks to those who replied.  I went to check it out on Friday.
Serial number was in the 88000s, so according to Pierce, it was built in
1908.  It appeared to be all original, with the exception of one agraffe in
the high treble which didn't match the others (it had agraffes all the way
to the top -- no V-bar).  Both soundboard and pinblock (open pinblock) had
numerous cracks, but the kindly old pastor who owns it wasn't interested in
having any extensive repairs done.  I explained that because of the cracked
pinblock, the tuning probably wouldn't hold very long.  He said he
understood and to go ahead with the tuning, so I did, and he was happy with
the results.

Anyway, the plate in this piano appeared to be made of bronze, cast in
separate pieces and bolted together.  I have heard of aluminum plates, but
never bronze.  Did Bechstein use bronze, or is it another metal with an
unusual paint job?  This is the first Bechstein I've ever worked on, so I
don't have anything to compare it with.

Thank you,
Paul Mulik, Joplin MO