[pianotech] Subject: Re: Curved cast iron plate question

[William Truitt]

Hi Chuck:  

 

Let me add my two cents here.  First, I would start with a pinblock that is
the thickest you can get, since you are going to be taking quite a bit off.
You can always joint it off the bottom if the finished block is still too
thick, but you don't want to end up with a block that is way too thin.
Plate height references from the original teardown, along with string
heights and the shank center pin height are important.  Assuming that the
original plate height was reasonably correct for the action, you would want
to get it back in the ballpark, and that new pinblock is going to control
plate height for good or bad.  The rebuilder who brought the block should
have recorded this information from the piano before teardown.  

 

!/4" is a lot, but many of us have seen it before, along with the other
weirdball stuff.

 

Will Truitt

 

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Chuck Behm
Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 12:55 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: [pianotech] Subject: Re: Curved cast iron plate question

 

>Hi Chuck,
I doubt you'll hear from many "Steinway Specialists", but a
number of us "Generic Trench Troops" have seen this. It wasn't
intentional, it's a random casting cooling event. Some are
pretty flat, some aren't. You'll get plates that twist and
curve in all sorts of directions. The block will conform to
the plate if it's just screwed to it, but If you expect to
have the block end up flush with the underside of the
stretcher, you'll have to taper it like the factory did. This
is a good excuse to look at power hand planers, if you haven't
already.
Ron N<

Ron - Thanks for the info. I'm glad it's not "one of a kind" anyway. I do
have a DeWalt hand planer, but it's probably too underpowered for this job.
Good reason to go to Lowes for that Bosch planer I was looking at just the
other day! Dang! Chuck

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