Unusual rib structure?

[Farrell]

Hello Sarah. I service two Wissners and both have extra braces like yours. One, a smaller Wissner, also has some metal bracing attached to the big wooden frames. They really are well built pianos. I don't know what the purpose of the braces is. Do you have a WS&G action?

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sarah Fox" <sarah@gendernet.org>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 5:35 PM
Subject: Unusual rib structure?


Hi all,

OK, there's something about my piano (1933 Wissner 9') that seems odd (in my limited experience), and I've just got to ask.  My soundboard ribs have an unusual structure (I think), and I'm uncertain as to the purpose.  Most of the ribs are "tied" together with one of two small cross-braces.  Counting from the keyboard, high treble end of the soundboard, the first brace starts around the center, keyboard-end of the soundboard at rib 8 and continues leftward and towards the tail through rib 13.  Then from the other end of rib 13 (right side of the piano), another brace starts and extends towards rib 17 in the tail.  Ribs 1-7 and rib 18 have no cross-braces.  Here are some photos:

www.wonderfulhome.info/soundboard1.jpg
www.wonderfulhome.info/soundboard1.jpg
www.wonderfulhome.info/soundboard1.jpg

The ribs on the cross-brace end are not smoothly tapered the way I think of most ribs being.  Rather, they are reduced in tiers, and the cross-braces run across the tiers.  The rib ends without cross-bracing are tapered in the conventional manner.

So...  Why was this done?  Was it a way of stiffening the soundboard?  Was it a way of bracing the crown, which is quite a lovely one.  The bass on this piano is incredibly rich, powerful, and mellow, and the sustain is unbelievable.  

The age of the soundboard?  My guess is that it was the original one.  It is in uncommonly good condition for a 70 yr old soundboard (no significant cracks, high crown), but nothing about the remainder of the piano suggests the soundboard might have been replaced.  The screws holding on the cross-braces, by the way, are quite dark -- a bit too dark for 1971 vintage -- probably oxidized since 1933.  The action was apparently replaced in 1971.  I suspect the bass strings were replaced at that time as well.  But the remaining strings were probably left in place, as about half of them appear to be original.  I think the pinblock is original -- still holds a tune, no cracks, but with a few marginally loose pins.  The more recent string replacements, other than the bass, were done incompetently, probably not by the same person who did the action (which was well done).  Anyway, the overall condition of the piano suggests the 1971 job was not a complete rebuild, by a long shot.  I'm thinking that the soundboard cross-braces were probably of Otto Wissner's doing.

Has anyone else done this?  If so, why?

Oh, Terry... Do you remember bracing such as this on that church's 9' Wissner?  I think you said it's all original and of similar vintage. 

Thanks, everyone.

Peace,
Sarah