[pianotech] unusual lyre joint

[Ron Nossaman]

On 12/12/2011 5:35 PM, Mike Spalding wrote:

> The holes in this lyre taper from 9/16 to 5/16, or about 6 degrees.
> That's what is so unusual in this joint. It's as if the intent was to
> make it easy to disassemble and reassemble the joint in order to remove
> the lyre from the piano while leaving the top block (ok, capital) in place.

I have one of these lyres stashed in a back corner of the shop 
someplace, and that was my impression too. Except - to pull the tenons 
free after knocking out the pegs requires levitation of the piano, which 
makes it a tad less handy. I don't remember what kind of braces it had, 
but if they're wooden, plugging into holes in the lyre and key bed 
(which seems right), perhaps the pegged joint is a combination of a 
never needs glued joint, and a means of getting the sticks in place 
after mounting the lyre.

Or not,
Ron N