A lot of Baldwin grands built that way did develop some minor cracks along inside curve of the treble-side rim. Baldwin knew about the problem but, since the problem area was hidden beneath the frame and because it didn't seem to present any particular tone problem was ignored. If a dealer or owner discovered a crack in this area the problem the piano would be brought back in and be repaired. Unless they could be convinced that this was a normal thing in Baldwin soundboards. Rather like compression ridges being a normal thing in Steinway's soundboards. When I designed the Walter grands I specified inset ribs for roughly the top six ribs. Both for this reason and because I wanted a little extra stiffness up there. The lower ribs floated. ddf Delwin D Fandrich Piano Design & Fabrication 6939 Foothill Court SW, Olympia, Washington 98512 USA Phone 360.515.0119 Cell 360.388.6525 del at fandrichpiano.com ddfandrich at gmail.com -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Encore Pianos Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2013 10:28 AM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] Worst Bass/Tenor Crossover in Universe FWIW Jim, I can offer my experience as a former Baldwin dealer. The majority of the grands I sold did not have the ribs notched into the rim, but rather ended them 1/4" or so from the edge of the rim. I can't remember seeing cracks on new or older product in the area of your concern. While I don't have a large sample to draw from, my suspicion would be that such cracking is all but a non-issue. Del would be a good person to get some feedback from on this, both from his Baldwin experience and his own upright design. Regarding the Pheonix agraffes, it is my understanding that they are not available to rebuilders as an aftermarket product (unless that has changed recently). Will Truitt -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Jim Ialeggio Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2013 12:56 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: [pianotech] Worst Bass/Tenor Crossover in Universe Ron wrote: <We may not ever be able to make a 5' piano indistinguishable from a 9' piano, but we can almost surely make them sound obviously better than the manufacturer ever managed. Right. I am, in my own thinking, distinguishing between 5' with the entire bass hugging the rim, and 5' with some room from the rim to play with. I also used the words stiffness and restriction interchangeably, which to be clear, both in my own thinking and in communicating this stuff, is not the same thing. I am also edging closer to selectively bagging rim notches in cross grain areas where stiffness is required(ribs), but freedom of movement is desirable. (but still a bit concerned about panel cracks at the rim joint) Also, there might be a completely different approach. Since the Phoenix agraffes are designed to be used at zero bearing, the zero bearing could conceivably allow a high bass cantilever without the roll tendency???maybe??? Though in a sh-t box like Terry's victim, the point is largely hypothetical. Jim Ialeggio -- Jim Ialeggio jim at grandpianosolutions.com 978 425-9026 Shirley Center, MA
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC