Balwin 6'3"

[Richard Oliver Snelson]

"Server would not take the picture" I will send it direct if you will
request it. Please request direct to my email.
rsnelson@dave-world.net


Here's the latest picture on my effort to fix this piano. I have
inserted
Lock-N-Stitch pins down the crack. Then screwed a steel plate to the
side of the strut again using the Lock-N-Stitch pins. That's why you
don't see the pins in the attached photo. My next step is to weld the
steel to the plate. All welds will run in a horizontal direction and
will be about 1" long top and bottom.  I will use a high nickel rod for
the cast iron.

After this experience I'm sure the plate strut nose bolt keeps the strut
from rising. Reason the piano was down in pitch is that it had been
stored for 10 plus years. Don't know why the bolt was stripped out of
the wood. 

Rich

Richard Oliver Snelson wrote:
> 
> Nose bolt block was not split.  I found it because after the break I
> checked. Too late. Turned by hand, holding nothing. It now has a new
> hard maple block epoxied in place.
> 
> Ron Nossaman wrote:
> >
> > >Which raises some questions: Are nose bolts absolutely necessary to
> > >maintain the integrity of the plate or are they just there to dampen the
> > >ringing? Does it depend on the piano? How does a nose bolt get
> > >stripped?????
> > >
> > >Tom
> >
> > Good questions. My understanding is that they are there primarily to tie
> > the center of the plate to the rim via the beams, to raise the impedance of
> > (stiffen) the plate so it will reflect, rather than absorb string energy. I
> > probably wouldn't automatically assume that a plate cracked because a nose
> > bolt was loose, though I wouldn't entirely rule it out either. It would
> > seem to me that if the plate cracked because an unconstrained strut flexed
> > too much, it ain't safe to be within fifty feet of the piano. This might be
> > a good one to refer to someone in the area who has a less than "sterling"
> > reputation. It might prove to be an ideal matching of a problem to a
> > solution. Otherwise, I'd tend to think the crack is coincidental to a
> > casting flaw rather than cause and effect relating to a loose nose bolt. As
> > to how a nose bolt could get stripped, other than a split mounting block or
> > a drop-in installation in the first place, I don't have any idea. I don't
> > see how it's possible, with a properly installed bolt.
> >
> > It's another of those "perspective", rather than "answer" things, but I'll
> > give you what I've got... such as it is.
> >
> > Ron N