David Love wrote: >>So I'm pulling apart this MH BB ( 1970's) and when the plate comes out the pin block, which I bumped ever so slightly, falls onto the key bed. Not secured to the stretcher or the rim--piano sounds pretty good too. So much for the "circle of sound". But I'm thinking, should I make this replacement block a full fit block or not. Arguments for and why bother? Thanks. David Love <https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives> davidlovepianos at comcast.net www.davidlovepianos.com David~ I also faced this decision when rebuilding a 70's vintage Mason & Hamlin BB (whether to rebuild with full fit pinblock). I talked to a couple of really well-respected rebuilders/consultants/engineers in the piano industry before attempting it. One said he had rebuilt that model piano with full fit pinblock and felt it had improved the piano significantly. (He also reduced the severe string downdraft angle). The other said I should not do a full fit pinblock on this model Mason because the rim structure and particularly, the cheek construction were not the same as the full fit Masons of earlier years, that essentially on the 70's vintage models (Aeolian) the cheeks/ledges were not continuous in the same way with the rim, and were also a softer hardwood (poplar or mahogany, I believe, was being used in the rim and cheeks/rim arms, whatever you call them, of Aeolian BB's of that era.) He basically felt they would not support the full fit construction, and had some compelling reasons for why there might be serious problems if I attempted it. Apparently there were other reasons for not doing full fit in that design besides just saving time, because according to him the rim had been weakened to save money/time/materials as well. I ultimately opted to follow the advice of the latter, and not do full fit, because he happened to be an engineer/scale designer working for Mason and Hamlin at the time, who was familiar with the differences between the 70's and earlier models, and knew personally the design history and issues, and seemed very knowledgeable about all aspects of the different designs, including the history of the plate castings and when they were changed and why, etc. etc. If you want to contact me back personally I can give you his name and contact info, (as well as the name of the person who said it was okay! ) Then you can decide who you trust more! Hope this helps. ~Kendall Ross Bean PianoFinders www.pianofinders.com <http://www.pianofinders.com/> e-mail: kenbean at pianofinders.com Connecting Pianos and People -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20080804/0a75b997/attachment.html
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