Soundboard stress cracks

[A440A@aol.com]

Subj:  Soundboard stress cracks

 Mike asks;

>Here are my questions: What is the correct euphemism: fissures? cracks?
crazes?
>worry lines? and when does one become another?
>What experiences have you had with new boards cracks?
>What would you consider the odds for this 5 year warranteed soundboard
lasting 5
>years? 10 years?

1.  For $36,000 and a trade in Steinway,  I would be careful about
euphemisms.  Summer's humidity is here and causes a lot of pressure ridges to
appear. Much of this is "shelving" , and can disappear in the winter,OTOH> a
number of cracked boards I see regularly look really good in the summer, but
open up in winter.
     If the joints between boards failed, it is a separation, if the wood
fibers themselves have separated, it is a crack. ( at least I hope so, since
I only use those descriptions.)  There are a lot of different cracks,  but at
this stage of the game,  I wouldn't get into it.    That there is an anomaly
should be noted,  the dealer advised, and wait until winter's dryness to see
where this thing goes.

>Have you followed any from birth to...well,  you know....

       Yes,  a new Steinway D,  at the home of a Steinway artist,  showed
pressure ridges on the board.  The owner taped my aural description of the
visible  ridge I saw running down the board.  It sounds like a doctor's
autopsy,  I was being careful to describe only what I saw, not what I feared.
 Now,  years later,  the board still looks exactly the same,  and exhibits no
problems.  I am glad I didn't march in there and tell anybody there was a
"cracked soundboard".

>Do cracks effect tuning stability? tonal reproduction? donwbearing? value?

What I have found, to a great degree is No, No,No, YES!

"Cracked Soundboard" has the mystique of the death knell for pianos, perhaps
because the public can identify with it.  They can actually see it, even if
they know nothing about crown or bearing.  I spoke with one elderly customer
who told me that a piano store's "tuner" had told them their board was
cracked, and like a flat tire, should not be used until replaced  or
repaired.

In most customers minds, a  broken soundboard greatly reduces the value of
the instrument.

Regards,
Ed Foote
Precision Piano Works
Nashville, Tn.