Pinblock/back separation repair

[Mike Spalding]

Jim,

I plan on a good 3 hours.  A lot of the time is setup (drop cloths, 
including taping one to the plate/strings/pressure bar under the tuning 
pin field to keep chips out of the action, loosening the few bass 
strings that block access to screws, etc.).  Some pianos have a cover 
glued over the pinblock / back frame area (cloth on Yamahas, that cheap 
plywood on Wurly's) that's a whole lot more tenacious than it looks, add 
a half hour, and bring planes, chisels, and scrapers.  My recollection 
is that the Sohmer is not covered.  Then cleanup.  Time will also depend 
on what glue material you choose to use, and how much time and effort 
you're willing to spend working it down into the cracks.  The longest 
time I ever spent was 4.5 hours on a little Baldwin whose separation had 
opened up to over 1/4 inch.  Used a lot of epoxy and dowels to keep that 
one together, also had to take some tension off the strings first.

Have fun

Mike

James H Frazee wrote:
> I need to do this repair on a 46 year old Sohmer upright, model 34K.  
> I have the procedural description found in Randy Potter's course but 
> I'm looking for a rough estimate of the person hours involved.  
> (Already consulted "G" Piano Works Repair Labor Guide, to no avail.  
> But Joe, how do you like that citation?)  Anyone have any ideas how 
> long each bolt takes?  the entire job?  Any help/guidance would be 
> greatly appreciated.
>  
> Jim Frazee