Soundboard repair question

[David Love]

Won't hold up, won't help.  Whatever material you fill the cracks with needs
to be able to expand and contract like the panel or it just cracks again.
Also, filling the crack in this manner won't change the soundboard response
anyway.  With respect to cracks, the biggest concern is rib separations.
Those should be repaired as they can make noise.  Soundboard cracks don't on
both counts.  

David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net 
www.davidlovepianos.com

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Annie Grieshop
Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2008 4:51 PM
To: Pianotech List
Subject: Soundboard repair question

This question was posed to me yesterday by the facility manager of a local
community center:  could a cracked soundboard be repaired by dripping CA
into the crack (as is done with bridges)?

My questions were:  would CA hold up and would it help?

I didn't know the answers to any of those, although I could hypothesize
some.  BTW, I told him NOT to try it, since both the pianos with cracked
soundboards are Steinways:  a 1950s B and a 1931 L that's been rebuilt and
refinished.  And nobody ever mentioned (or remembered) to think about
humidity control.  Harrumph!  The cracks aren't horrid, but they are there.

Thanks for any comments.

Annie G.