New, Improved Baldwins

[Ron Nossaman]

>           The drilling of plate hole tolerance is now .004'' 

Hi Roger, 
The pin drilling relative to the plate holes is still wildly erratic, and
in some cases off center enough to be nearly touching the side of that 7/16
+_0.004" hole. But my point is that the holes in the plate are considerably
bigger than they were last year, providing (to my mind) much needed
clearance tolerance. This could have been done very easily at any time in
the past, regardless of plate source. 


> The ribs and board are now
>radius crown. 

Yes, at (I think) 72', and the improvement in the lone sample I tuned was
evident. I'm looking forward to comparing it to more Ls for a continuity
check.  I wonder how that radius was arrived at.  


>You will also notice the ribs are notched to
>the inner rim.
>(Depends on Ser#) 

Yes, but I'm not sure it's necessary to anything specific, one way or the
other. Why would that be a feature?


>Hopefully the company will hire a materials testing tech, to ensure quality
>of all raw materials before it gets into a piano.  Glues, polyester, maple
>hardness, etc.
>Lets hope they continue with the zeal and commitment to QC. It's shown some
>big leaps in the last 12 months.

I haven't been aware of material problems, which doesn't mean there haven't
been any - just that I'm unaware, but the QC in such things as tuning pin
height, pinblock drilling, plate height, setting bearing (especially with
the vertical hitch pins), and action regulation are not new concepts of
concern with the industry, and certainly not related to design changes and
material sources. Those are very simple and basic requirements that were
necessary from the production of the very first piano they made. I guess
what I'm saying is, While I'm vastly encouraged that some honest effort is
being made to improve the design, what happened to production tolerances? 

All in all, a step forward, even with the steps back. Don't stop now.


Ron N