Down-Bearing for Old Board

[Farrell]

What do you folks use as downbearing guidelines for old boards. I'm
restringing an old small grand and did a lot of shimming. The little rascal
(soundboard) has really shot upwards and now has quite a bit of
downbearing - especially down in the tenor section. I've got some info for
new boards, but can't find anything for old boards. I tend to think
downbearing should be less than for a new board.

And exactly where/how do you measure your downbearing (I believe most would
measure the gap between the plate ridge in front of the hitch pins and the
string when the string is just touching all the way across the top of the
bridge - and hopefully, the string just touches the front of the bridge just
before it lies flat across the bridge top). Thanks for any input

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Tampa, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com