dangerous pianos?

[Tom Driscoll]

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On
Behalf Of Pam Jenkins
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2003 8:54 AM
To: pianotech@ptg.org
Subject: dangerous pianos?

Hello list,
I just finished looking at an old upright for a friend and decided to
try to
get some answers to this question:  At what point do old pianos become
dangerous?  I seem to remember hearing that the structure of a piano
could
become compromised to such an extent that it could actually "blow up"
under
the weight of the string tension.  What can one look for to determine if
old
pianos are structurally sound?  This upright had a huge break in the
sound
board.  The crack extended at a 45 degree angle the entire range of the
sound board and was over 1/2 inch wide at the most. I am not sure what
role
the sound board plays in the stability of the structure of the piano,
but
would love to hear your ideas.  I appreciate all your wisdom...thanks in
advance.

_______________________________________________
Pam,
	Pianos indeed can be dangerous. The following is a partial list.
	
	1 .Attempting to learn on a bad piano--Dangerous
	2 Wishful serving of a bad piano--Dangerous
	3 Amateurs moving big old pianos, especially with
stairs--Dangerous
	4 Selling a bad piano--Dangerous
	5 Telling the owner that Grammas piano is a piece of junk--Very
	   Dangerous.
	Seriously,
	The soundboard is not a structural component. The biggest
calamity that can befall a piano is a broken plate (unless Thump decides
it has too many germs in it and auto-claves it to death) In 30 years of
service I've had only one break during tuning (Brambach)and have seen
only a handful of others.
  In an upright with all that case around it, it's hard to imagine a
scenario where the word danger could apply. A breaking bass string will
leave a grand piano with the lid up in a hurry--fortunately away from
the tuner but this happens usually during tuning and in an upright the
string stays in the piano.
	Tom Driscoll RPT