Front lid extended during performance

[Richard Brekne]

Which pretty well sums this up.  Really... I have a hard time 
understanding the big to-do here.  There is a difference between 
uncarefully handling the front lid and carefully placing it in the 
closed position with the whole lid propped up.  Sounds like some folks 
are getting their P's and Q's mixed up.

I suppose if one is worried about the locals miscommunicating the need 
for care one could advise in general to avoid this.  But to out of hand 
deny an artist this when due care can be exercised seems uncalled for IMHO.

Cheers
RicB




    Since it has come up on this list, I did a little investigation on
    the subject.  The rear lid, in the open position, is held away from
    the spine of the rim by roughly the diameter of the hinge barrels. 
    The back edge of the front lid is held at this position by its
    attachment to the rear lid, but the front portion of the front lid
    rests on the front corner of the rim.  This forces the front lid to
    angle slightly below its normal co-planar relationship to the rear
    lid.  This comes out to be less that a two-degree angle.  There is
    sufficient space between the front and rear lid that this angle is
    not sufficient to bring the lower edges of the two lids into
    contact., so there is no leverage working against the screws in the
    hinge.  It is true that the weight of the front lid is being
    supported largely by the screws in the hinge, but there are dozens
    of them.   If this were done on a daily basis with a heavy lid made
    of MDF, I would be a little more concerned, but I would probably
    just keep an eye on it, and treat it as a testing environment to
    determine just how much it can take.  As was stated earlier in the
    thread, and I agree, the risk of damage is greater when the front
    lid is folded back of the piano cover.  

    Frank Emerson