>Here are some pictures of a 9' Chickering like the one mentioned recently >on the list. The question is ,what is the best way to get the plate out >of this piano. As you can see, the plate goes under the inner rim where >there must be screws holding it in. Anyone ever removed a plate from a >piano like this? Nope. But...this looks the same in principle as how five octave fortepianos used to be constructed. Here the soundboard goes in early on glued to the framework which then has an outer "skin" glued to it (thin, especially on the bentside). Along the bentside a false inner rim was glued along on top of the soundboard, effectively doubling the apparent thickness of the bentside rim. The construction was often hidden by a moulding of some some glued on top of the rim edge (but not always), or veneer along the top. It looks to me like the Chickering is made the same way - substitute plate for soundboard and screwed down for glued. The false inner rim is then attached all the way around glued to the inside of the outer rim, probably for aesthetic reasons and not structural. Is the top of the rim veneered? Can't see in the photo. If I'm right you'd have to remove the inner false rim to get the plate out, but if it's only a glued layer it shouldn't be impossible. It's likely quite thin :-), or possibly half the thickness of the rim :-( I may be up the creek here, but can't think old Mr Chickering would have gone to the trouble of mortising the plate into the rim....too stupid. By the way, on the larger fortepianos the soundboard was put in later, although there was still a false inner rim on the bentside - closely fitted curve, or some moulding to hide the gap, or don't care if there's a gap here and there. Who's is the Chickering? Is it for sale? Stephen -- Stephen Birkett Fortepianos Authentic Reproductions of 18th and 19th Century Pianos 464 Winchester Drive Waterloo, Ontario Canada N2T 1K5 tel: 519-885-2228 mailto: sbirkett[at]real.uwaterloo.ca http://real.uwaterloo.ca/~sbirkett
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC