I would turn new ones out of mahogany wood. James James Grebe Piano Tuning & Repair Member of M.P.T. R.P.T. of the P.T.G. for over 30 years. "Member of the Year" in 1989 Creator of Handsome Hardwood Caster Cups, Piano Benches, Writing Instruments (314) 845-8282 1526 Raspberry Lane Arnold, MO 63010 BECOME WHAT YOU BELIEVE! pianoman@accessus.net ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Formsma" <john@formsmapiano.com> To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 2:49 PM Subject: broken Steinway lyre braces > 1942 Steinway S in a nice club. Has broken mahogany lyre braces -- > broken about 7-8 inches from the lyre brace block (on the underside of > the piano). There is at least one broken piece that is missing. > > Woodworking is not something I have much experience in, and I don't > visualize these things well until after I have botched it at least once > to know how not to do it. So, what I was thinking about doing might be > totally dumb. Oh well, I'm not too proud to ask "stupid questions" so I > can learn. ;-) > > I can certainly find dowel stock and stain it so it would be a decent > match. That's easy enough, and since the club is rather dark it wouldn't > be that noticeable. However, I was thinking of re-using the good > portions so as to retain some of the original look of the nicely turned > braces. I would do this by putting a wood insert nut in the brace. (See > the attached picture.) I would cut the brace in the larger diameter > section, then drill a hole for the threaded insert. The insert accepts a > 5/16" carriage bolt, and I would get a bolt the proper length. The bolts > would be painted black or some other color so they would not be visible > from a distance. By doing it this way you could also easily adjust the > length of the brace by turning the carriage bolt (assuming you drill the > hole a bit deeper than the insert). > > The piano is in a club and is susceptible to careless abuse that no > doubt caused the braces to break. (I'm guessing something was shoved > under the piano and they snapped.) Whatever repair decision should be > made with a view that something like this might happen again. I'm a bit > concerned that the proposed repair would not be as strong as the dowel > rod, so I'm wondering if it's worth the effort to do the insert/bolt > thing only to possibly have it break again soon. > > Would this work? What is your repair/replacement method in this situation? > > Thanks, > > John Formsma > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > _______________________________________________ > Pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives >
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC