Hello all, First, thanks for all the knowledge shared here. I read this list daily and learn something new all the time. And the archives—what a blessing! I’ve come across an old Bechstein A, ca. 1892, 85 key, ebony/ traditional, in generally good condition; strings and hammers replaced at some point, still nice tone. But there is a crack in the plate—bass end, near tuning pins, in the ledge between the agraffes and hammers, running parallel to strings. It starts below the lip up to the agraffes and ends ¼ in. beyond the roll down on the hammer side; about 3 inches long; about midway in the bass section; does not reach edge on either side. Looks old and doesn’t appear to be expanding (from what I can see with aging and dirt/dust over the years). The piano hasn’t been serviced in over 12 years and the owner’s aware of the crack because she had someone come out to evaluate the piano about that long ago when she thought she’d sell it after her husband passed away. The tech told her the piano was dangerous and that the plate would have to be replaced. (She forgets the tech’s name, thinks he’s since passed away). I’m not sure I agree; from what I’ve heard and read in the archives, these cracks in old Bechsteins can sometimes exist while not causing any discernable problems. Checking the piano, I found the tone still nice, the tuning not unreasonable after 12 years, not terribly flat (-15 avg.). A check of tuning pins revealed them surprisingly tight; the exposed top-side of the pinblock looks good with the exception of some slight, aged cracking near a few pins after the treble break (but even here the pins are tight), and block looks good from below. The action looks ok, clean, good working order. Rest of the plate, good. The case, decent, all very pretty from below. Soundboard has some minor cracks but is clean and has nice tone. Matching serial numbers across parts. The piano’s been kept in an immaculate home environment. The long and short: at this point she just wants to get rid of the piano. She’s moving into a retirement home and can't take it. I know a plate crack is usually disastrous; even if the piano behaves well now, no guarantees in the future. But it sort of breaks my heart to imagine this piano being trashed. Would anyone be interested in this piano for the cost of moving it? Is it worth the risk? I don't have any experience with plate cracks on Bechsteins but this crack just doesn’t look that bad. I suspect it’s has been there a very long time and was tuned over the years without being noticed until someone came to do a thorough appraisal. It’s easy to miss; can only be seen at certain angles. I’d appreciate your thoughts/ advice. Not worth the risk? Trash it? Weld it? If it holds up, it could make a nice, affordable instrument for someone? I’ve included a pic. I have more if anyone’s interested. The crack is between the 2nd and 3rd bi-chord. You can see the beginning right there where the ledge meets the lip up to the agraffes and the other end is ¼ in. beyond the roll on the top side. Thanks in advance, Gary -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100625/b158e26a/attachment-0001.htm> -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: BechsteinModelA-1.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 438404 bytes Desc: not available URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100625/b158e26a/attachment-0001.jpg>
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