Cracked plates

[DBHersh@aol.com]

In a message dated 96-02-16 21:46:31 EST, you write:

>My first experience with a cracked plate was a piano I now own.  I had tuned
>it 6 months previous and noticed it was 40 cents flat again (this was when I
>had an SAT).  I pitch raised it and while I wandered into the high treble I
>noticed a hairline crack in a strut.  I finished the pitch raise and tuning,
>shut my mouth and left (piano was still under warranty).  I immediately
>called Kawai and Ray Chandler (he lives here in town) came down to look at
>it.  Had that crack not been directly in front of my eyes, I would have
>missed it.
>In fact, we may all be tuning pianos day to day that have microfissures and
>some-such cracks in them.  Whether the piano was 40 cents flat because of a
>crack or because of its youth, I don't know.  I am willing to bet that this
>is not an isolated case and more than a few pianos which we service have
some
>sort of structural flaws which do not lend themselves to the naked eye.
>
>

Eric,
   I once worked for the Los Angeles School district and went to tune your
basic Hamilton Studio. Before I started tuning I was just starting to play
the piano and depressed the damper pedal and heard a very unusual clunking
type noise and could almost feel something in the pedal but looking down on
top of the dampers I couldn't see anything so I pulled the action and saw a
crack in the plate strut between the high tenor and low treble. The strut was
bowing out enough to make the damper lifter rod hit the plate where there is
a break between the dampers. Ever since then I do try the pedals before I
tune.

Doug Hershberger,RPT