S & S Struts

[James McCormac]

Hello everyone
Recently, while servicing a client's Steinway model B, I noticed a
buzzing sound when D4 was played ff.  After finishing the tuning, I began
the hunt for the source of the buzz.  As I finished setting strings at
the bridge and at the agraffe -- to no avail -- the client came in to
inquire how the work was going.  I stiffled the instinct for flight --
which was urging me to present the bill and scurry out the door -- and
shared the problem with my client knowing that at this point it would be
helpful to have someone to play the note while I rummaged around the
piano in search of this ellusive buzz.  Few things are as humbling as
chasing after a buzz with the client present.

Cutting to the chase, the culprit is the removable cross-piece or strut
linking the central braces of the plate.  Loosening and tightening the
fastening screws did not cure the buzz.  Holding the strut firmly and
applying torque attenuated the buzzing sound.  At this point I was ready
to remove the cross-piece.  I had read that this had occasionally been
done on S&S model D's.  My client, however, seemed convinced that S&S had
placed it there through divine inspiration.

At this point I played a trump card.  I told him I would check with you
folk on the internet.  Before composing this posting, I rummaged around
in the archive to see what I could find.  What I found was both very
interesting and inconclusive.

Some have asserted that the removable cross-piece serves as a
re-enforcement that is important primarily when the piano is being moved;
Some have suggest that it is necessary in some B's and D's, but not in
all of them -- which ones being determined by how hard it is to remove
the cross-piece;
Someone caled on S&S to provide guidance from the manufacturer's point of
 view -- but I could not locate a reply;
The most useful posting was from the technician who isolated the
cross-piece from the plate with stringing braid.  This is the direction I
am inclinced to try.

What is the current thinking on the necessity of the cross-piece?
If putting stringing braid between the cross-piece and the plate makes
good sense, and the cross-piece fits tightly in place, is filing the
cross-piece appropriate in order to make room for the braid?
Some have suggested that if the cross-piece fits tightly, it is prudent
to lower the tension of the strings in the area under the cross-piece at
the time you remove it.  Is there a consensus on this?
Or is this a case for a Steinway dealer technician?

Jim McCormac
Fallbrook, California