YES, and NO. Plates can be repaired successfully using metal stitching techniques. I have personally completed such a repair. See this web page: http://www.locknstitch.com/ There is also another method involving heating the entire plate but it is highly specialized and easy to screw up if you don't know what your doing. The problem is that cast iron has very unique expansion characteristics when it is heated and if the exact procedure is not followed then you will be creating a bunch of disastrous new problems. While it is possible to perform minor metal stitching repairs without removing the plate, from the looks of it there is probably something terribly wrong that created the crack in the first place. You have two major struts cracked. I would never attempt any repair on this piano without completely tearing it down and removing the plate first to see what's going on. My answer would be NO unless you want to take it seriously and take it all apart and fix it right. There have been several discussions on plate repair in the past and I also spelled out the whole metal stitching technique a few years ago. Search through the list archives, it's all there. Rob Goodale, RPT Las Vegas, NV
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