If the piano was not going to be restrung, the strings were loosened and moved to the side to avoid getting any marine resin on them. The beauty of this method was the soldering iron got the bridge pins hot, and the marine resin slurped down the sides of the pins and deep into the bridge, filling the cracks, too! If by some chance the pins were not hot enough, or the resin puddled next to the pins, a razor blade could be used to clean the bridge after the resin got "gummy". Remember, this method was used in reconditioning pianos. If I was rebuilding, I would make a mylar template of the bridge and recap it using quarter-sawn maple. I drilled the new holes using a hand-held drill. Once you get the hang of it, it is more accurate than using a drill press! I also kept a separate set of drill bits and chisels for only bridge work. Carol Beigel >Carol, >Did you first remove the strings or were you able to get the glue past the >string? >Joe Goss ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC