Plate - Grinding

[Alan W Deverell]

Although I have never had to remove as much as 25mm (1"), my work on
Older Cast Iron Plates has all been done with the aid of the following
equipment:

1) Tool Makers Die Grinders (electric or pneumatic) fitted with
appropriate "Mounted Points" up to 1" diameter and shaped, using
"dressing tools" to suit the "re-fettling" job.
2) Angle Grinders (electric or pneumatic) fitted with appropriate grit
disks and sanding pads.
3) Sanding "bobs" (mounted in electric or pneumatic drills) to level
some of the surface markings.
4) Hand sanding using cloth backed "emmery paper" strips.

Any good engineering supply shop should be able to advise you in the
selection of all the gear.

I recommend that you practice the skills on something unimportant
before you begin in earnest and that you ensure that the 25mm you wish
to remove is NOT going to compromise the structural integrity of the
plate.

Warning - Cast Iron DUST, produced by these methods, is VERY invasive
and it is essential to wear appropriate breathing apparatus, safety
glasses and ear muffs etc. and to vacuums clean/sweep up afterwards.

AlanD (who learned these basic skills, 25 years ago, porting and
polishing the cylinder heads of racing engines)

>-----Original Message-----
>From: owner-pianotech@ptg.org
>[mailto:owner-pianotech@ptg.org]On Behalf
>Of Peter Kestens
>Sent: Friday, August 21, 1998 8:12 AM
>To: pianotech@ptg.org
>Subject: plate
>
>
>Hello,
>
>I'm "truying" to rebuild an old (ugly) german piano to a
>(less or more)
>decent one.  Lets say  I do it  as an exercise.
>For this, I've rescaled the old stringscale but I've also to
>make a totally
>new bridge because the program (=Parsons) showed strings
>that are about 30
>mm to long (and this means inharmonicity is very bad). I
>also have to remove
>some metal from the plate: the new bridge comes about where
>two screws now
>fasten the plate.  There is place to make new screw-holes 25
>mm higher but
>what is the most easy way to remove about 25 mm of metal
>without to much
>damaging  the plate.   The screw-holes are for the moment
>left and right
>from the treble bar from the plate.  Thanks a lot for your help.
>
>Peter
>
>KESTENS.P@DEBCOM.BE
>
>
>