Separated back

[Clyde Hollinger]

Friends:

Several months ago I asked your advice on repairing a separated back on
an Everett school piano.  Just in case you're interested, here's how it
went when I did the job this week.

I pulled the back together with three clamps where it was separated;
removed the center plate screw (along the top edge) and drilled through
the back at that place, as well as making two new holes, one about 8" on
either side of where the screw was, on the flat surface; put the 5/16"
carriage bolts into the holes but didn't tighten them; released my
clamps and worked 90-minute epoxy into the crack; retightened the clamps
as much as I felt I should; tightened the three bolts until they were
very snug; cleaned away the epoxy that squeezed out the top; left it set
overnight.  When I took the clamps off the next day, nothing moved an
iota, as far as I could tell, and the repair is very neat, although I
might still cut off the unused bolt ends sometime.

One question:  I didn't pull the back all the way together, since
resistance (originally about 1/8") while tightening the clamps was
getting very high.  The crack was still 1/16 inch at the most.  Was I
right to just stabilize the back the way I did, or should I have tried
to force the thing the whole way?  I didn't want to break anything.

Clyde Hollinger, RPT
Lititz, PA