Marcel - If your friend has opportunity to return for inspection to bolster his defense, I suggest asking, is there any rust on part of the break in the plate? This would indicate a pre-existing crack. I was once given the opportunity to take anything I wanted from an upright with a broken plate (Another technician had raised the pitch, apparently without inspecting for flaws first), and where the tenor-treble strut let go, the outside portion was rusty, deeper in was fresh gray. Obviously it had been cracked for some time. (Someone mentioned "dust" in an earlier post - could that have been a typo?) I am wondering if there is any body of evidence that will stand up in court, that bears out the experience of all of us, that plates are designed to withstand tensions well in excess of that incurred in tuning to A=440; and if one fails it is the fault of the plate or its installation. I have not had one break in 40+ years of tuning, though I have done probably thousands of pitch raises, and gone somewhat gingerly over tuning where I saw cracks in the plate. And $2000 for an Anne Onimous er- no name- upright? Was this in Hawaii where they get S&S prices for Betsy Ross spinets? Bill Maxim, RPT
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