FWIW Jim, I can offer my experience as a former Baldwin dealer. The majority of the grands I sold did not have the ribs notched into the rim, but rather ended them 1/4" or so from the edge of the rim. I can't remember seeing cracks on new or older product in the area of your concern. While I don't have a large sample to draw from, my suspicion would be that such cracking is all but a non-issue. Del would be a good person to get some feedback from on this, both from his Baldwin experience and his own upright design. Regarding the Pheonix agraffes, it is my understanding that they are not available to rebuilders as an aftermarket product (unless that has changed recently). Will Truitt -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Jim Ialeggio Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2013 12:56 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: [pianotech] Worst Bass/Tenor Crossover in Universe Ron wrote: <We may not ever be able to make a 5' piano indistinguishable from a 9' piano, but we can almost surely make them sound obviously better than the manufacturer ever managed. Right. I am, in my own thinking, distinguishing between 5' with the entire bass hugging the rim, and 5' with some room from the rim to play with. I also used the words stiffness and restriction interchangeably, which to be clear, both in my own thinking and in communicating this stuff, is not the same thing. I am also edging closer to selectively bagging rim notches in cross grain areas where stiffness is required(ribs), but freedom of movement is desirable. (but still a bit concerned about panel cracks at the rim joint) Also, there might be a completely different approach. Since the Phoenix agraffes are designed to be used at zero bearing, the zero bearing could conceivably allow a high bass cantilever without the roll tendency???maybe??? Though in a sh-t box like Terry's victim, the point is largely hypothetical. Jim Ialeggio -- Jim Ialeggio jim at grandpianosolutions.com 978 425-9026 Shirley Center, MA
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