Planing Bridge Cap

Robert Goodale rrg@unlv.edu
Thu, 15 May 2003 06:35:31 -0700


1.  Make certain that your plane blade is sharper than a razor.  No better
way to make errors than with a dull blade.
2.  If you really have a consistancy problem in your technique I would
suggest you purchase or make some sort of depth gage and check yourself
frequently.

I don't know it there is much else to say here other than to work
S-L-O-W-L-Y.  It would be a crime to comprimise a lot of hard work and
materials for the sake of finishing the job before lunch.

Rob Goodale, RPT
Las Vegas, NV

> I have to plane a new bridge cap a little bit for my target bearing. I
know I have a tendency to plane the far side of my
> work more than the near side. What techniques might anyone have to offer
to keep this critical task square - you just don't > have much room for
slop. If there is going to be some error, I trust it is better to make the
hitch pin side a bit lower than
> target (but still have downward string pressure on rear edge of cap)?
Should the plane of the cap top surface be parallel
> with the string plane? To dramatize, one can imagine a taller-than-needed
bridge and you can slope the cap top downward > toward the hitch pin and
still technically, achieve your target downbearing (distance bearing).
>
> I was just going to use a straight edge on top of the cap, perpendicular
to the long axis of the bridge, on a level table to keep tabs on my cap
angle. Any better method?
>
> Seems to be an art (that is not quite achievable in one afternoon) to this
downbearing stuff!
>
> Terry Farrell



This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC