Unhappy Steinway...(cracked plate)

[TunerJeff@aol.com]

Subj; Unhappy Steinway...(cracked plate)
From; TunerJeff @ aol.com- Oregon Coast Piano Services
To; Those Who Know...something...anything...maybe?

Dear Pianotech Folks,
    A new client to my tuning/repair business has a 9-foot Steinway
(mid-70's) with a seriously damaged plate. It cracked at the strut running to
the bottom of the upper octave (on the pin-side at the capo) and along the
rim at the edge of the pinblock immediately across. This damage was repaired
by welding the affected areas...but the welding-work has developed cracks,
too. Starting at the bottom and working upwards at each welded
gob...er...umm...ah... repaired section of the plate.

   At my first visit (...and immediately noticing a strange quality to the
upper octave), I penciled marks at the 'top' of the (then...) tiny cracks in
the weld-repairs. I found the upper octave to be totally unstable in tuning,
and extremely deficient in tone...it sounded vague or colorless (...hey! You
try to describe it!...I'm doin' my best...). I suspected that they missed the
mark when re-welding the plate, and the huge lumps of extra materiel laid on
the affected areas didn't seem promising. My first few checks on the pencil
marks found no developement in the flaws.
     I had hoped that the problems were stabilized...and that some stability
would be achieved in tuning and we'd find a way to obtain decent tone. Nope.
Hasn't happened. Each attempt to tune the upper octave is simply an exercise
in frustration and the meaning of Life. I can't achieve good tuning or find
good tone from that area of the piano. (No surprise..as the welds are at each
end of the upper capo...but hope springs eternal!)

     This posting to you comes on the heels of a call from the accompanist at
the church. She had been keeping an eye on the pencil marks
(...worried...worried...worried) and has discovered that they are
growing...daily. She is concerned for the safety of her choir, and of the
damage the piano may suffer when (...not IF....when...) the plate gives way.

Question;
    Is there real danger to people in the area from this instrument?
 ...I have ZERO experience with this kind of flaw in a 9-foot piano, but 25
tons of pressure deserves respect. Wouldn't the plate achieve zero-tension
after 2-inches of movement? Or would it resemble a war zone...with flying
strings and shards of plate sleeting across the room??? The only eyewitness
(...earwitness?) report I've ever heard on the sound a plate makes when it
breaks was; "Amazing"...and the plate simply failed, shifted slightly, and
caused zero collateral damage.

Question;
     Would Steinway & Sons repair this piano? Would you? Should we consider
the artistic effect of a 9-foot wing-shaped bookcase? (...or does anybody
have an extra plate for it behind the coffee machine??)

Question;
     Given a typical church budget. Would your company (or a re-builder of
your aquaintance) offer them ANYTHING for this instrument? They certainly do
need an instrument to replace it, as the church is involved with local
performing arts.
(This is/was one of 2 available full-size instruments in the area...a heavy
loss.)

Question;
     Should I deliver the benediction and reduce the string tension to zero
with a 1/2 turn or so at each pin? I'd like to pretend that this would
eliminate any hazard, and preserve the instrument from damaging itself
further (...rim, soundboard, pinblock, etc.) if the plate does happen to
fail...dramatically or otherwise.

     There is no defect or flaw assigned to Steinway in this piano's
condition. The plate was cracked by mis-handling during shipping
(...yah...they dropped it...). Any help would be appreciated. Any information
regarding a home (...or hospital) for it would reach the church people
through me. Costs of re-building will be duly noted (...with much shaking of
heads and scratching at noggins over phrases like 'pinblock replacement' &
'sustaining-monkey re-furbishment'). Any bright lights? Firm suggestions?
Buyers!?

     I appreciate your time in perusing this missive, and eagerly await your
replies. Help.

 Sincerely,
 Jeffrey T. Hickey  RPT
 TunerJeff @ aol.com
 Oregon Coast Piano Services
 (541) 756-7701