[CAUT] soundboard crack

[Greg Newell]

Debra,
         Some comments interspersed, k?


At 06:36 PM 4/27/2006, you wrote:
>I have a private client with a Steinway M, from the
>late 20s, rebuilt by a reputable rebuild shop in NYC
>less than two years ago.  I do not know if they put in
>a new soundboard or it is the original.  I am in the
>process of finding that out.  The piano has a Roland
>quiet time system installed and I installed a dampp
>chaser system Jan 2005.  I have subsequently moved to
>San Diego, but still return to NY periodically to
>service some of my clients.  I went to tune this piano
>(it had been 5 months) and also do some minor
>regulation.  It was more out of tune than it should
>have been and when I went to push the action back in,
>it wouldn't clear the pinblock.

This is weird as I'm sure you agree. Do you 
remember if this plate had plate horns that ride 
against some fixed bolt? If the rebuilder forgot 
to back the bolt out against the horn that could 
account for the pin block dropping like it did.

>I called the rebuild
>shop and they said that the pinblock to be planed and
>that it was common for a pinblock to 'drop' a bit.

I can't imagine why the pin block would need to 
be planed after installation. If it worked on 
initial install it shouldn't need to be changed now.

>I've not experienced that yet in my 4 years as a tech.
>  I didn't have the tools with me to do the repair, and
>was concerned that I might damage the quiet time unit.
>   They sent another technician to my client a few days
>later.  He handled the pinblock repair,

Don't think the pin block needed repair but ...

>  but there was
>a loud buzz and he identified a crack in the
>soundboard.  I didn't see (or hear) it, but from
>talking with the client it seems to be running
>parallel to one of the ribs.

I've not seen a soundboard with the grain (and 
therefore the crack) running parallel to the 
ribs. Unless I'm sadly mistaken the ribs normally 
run perpendicular or cross grain to the 
soundboard. This helps to support the panel from 
cracking. Are you sure about this?

>The rebuilder/owner was
>going to go out to look at the piano, but is instead
>sending another technician (experienced with
>soundboard repairs) and he seems certain that a rib is
>separated.  I didn't look under the piano to see if
>this was the case or not.
>
>Here are my questions - Is it possible that a
>combination of the heat from the Quiet time system and
>perhaps the dehumidifier rods from the Dampp Chaser
>system could have helped cause the crack?  I have been
>wondering since I started installing the DC systems,
>whether the heat generated could do damage?   Also,
>what type of warranty should the rebuilder offer if,
>even after the soundboard is shimmed and the rib
>repaired, the soundboard continues to deteriorate?
>Thanks for  your collective thoughts and experience.
>
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Greg Newell
Greg's Piano Forté
mailto:gnewell at ameritech.net
www.gregspianoforte.com