Cracked bridge

[Larry Fisher]

I've got a console Kimball coming in the shop today that has developed a
crack in the very high treble bridge.  The crack is in the usual place,
between the pins.  I need suggestions for repair.  Epoxy fill, Weldwood
clamp, catalist filler, router and recap, etc.  I'm of course looking for
cost effective, relative to the quality of the instrument and the customer's
pocket book, and longevity of repair, something that will last another 15-25
years or so.  Any suggestions??  I'm leaning towards packing some wood
compatable Epoxy down the crack and clamping.  I've got a problem with this
because the wood wanted to split there in the first place, and clamping it
would simply make it want to crack there again.  (stored energy)  How about
filling the crack with that same Epoxy and redrilling the pin holes, or
filling the crack with a catalist type plastic filler, and redrilling.

The router and recap routine is out of the question for this repair.  It's
too costly, and I'm not set up for it.  Plus I don't feel the piano is worth
the expense if other repairs will work just as well.

Take your best shot guys.

Lar

                                                  Larry Fisher RPT
                specialist in players, retrofits, and other complicated stuff
                       phone 360-256-2999 or email larryf@pacifier.com
                  http://pacifier.com/~larryf/homepage.html (revised 5/96)
                         Beau Dahnker pianos work best under water