Overnight Bridge Repair

[Alan R. Barnard]

The answer is an emphatic YES and I've done it very successfully. The secret
is Ruth McCall's Thermoset 103 semi-liquid, heat curing epoxy. It's amazing
stuff. With moderate heat it becomes like water and just flow into cracks
and crevices. You can up the bridge pin size one number, insert it while the
stuff is still real liquid, and really seal it all up. I did it on a very
old grand with many pins that were easily pulled out or wiggled side-to-side
with the fingers. I just tuned that piano last month, two years later, and a
professional played it at a home wedding with another professional singing.
The loved the piano--which, by the way, the owner was willing to junk two
years ago.

With an upright, you will have to lay it down and leave it down overnight,
hope that isn't a big problem here.

Call Ruth--well I don't really know her--call Ms. McCall at (614) 898-9497
to get the straight skinny, prices, etc. You can do the job on Monday and
tune the piano on Tuesday, you really can.

Alan Barnard
Salem, MO

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Ballard" <yardbird@pop.vermontel.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 20, 2002 10:46 PM
Subject: Overnight Bridge Repair


> Dear List,
>
> I've got a big piano (no, another one) with very wobbly notes on
> either side of the mid-treble break. Wobbly in sound and in pitch
> stability. The common description would be false beats, but also low
> sustain. The whole board is great, and I'm confident that that if
> both terminations are solid, that region will be too.
>
> If the worse case scenario happened, and the bridge pins needed to be
> reinforced with epoxy, could the entire repair be done in 24 hours? I
> don't think so. Count the steps: slack and clear strings away, pull
> old bridge pines, test new pin size, size hole with epoxy, drive and
> finish pins pins, cure resin, restring through stable. I don't think
> so.
>
> I already have a long list of things that I've checked. But others
> might like the list.
>
> Bill Ballard RPT
> NH Chapter, P.T.G.
>
> "If ducks were smart enough and well-built enough, they'd be shooting
> at us. It's not my fault they can't aim and shoot."
>      ...........Talk Show host Rush Lamebaugh, explaining why duck
> hunting is a sport, 1/12/98
> +++++++++++++++++++++