Soundboards

[Delwin D Fandrich]

AndyTTaylr@AOL.COM wrote:

> Hi
>
> A potential customer of mine has a very sentimental Holmes & Son player  with
> water damage.The Water was about a foot over the bottom and It has really
> warped the soundboard, and loose glue joints everywhere.
>
> I told him that he was looking at mucho bucks to rebuild the piano, but he
> insists that money is no object, the piano was his Grandmothers ect.
>
> I can tear it down and reglue the frame, and am capable of  all repairs except
> one, and that is making and installing a new soundboard. Even though I think
> it will cost far more than the old upright player is worth, The customer is
> hell bent on rebuilding this old player. I rebuild players, but first the
> piano needs to be fixed. before anything else is done.
>
> So, if this guy has deep pockets, so be it. But, doesn't soundboard
> replacement  take special  skill and equiptment? I thought about just removing
> the damaged area and replacing it, (leaving the ribs) But it's possible that
> the board no longer has any crown since the ribs has been wet. I am out of my
> league here!
>
> So it there a soundboard person in the house?
> Andy Taylor

Andy,

Basically you have two choices.  One is to remove and replace the board yourself,
the other is to send the piano out and have someone else do the work.  If you do
the job yourself, you still have a couple of choices.  You can fabricate the board
the board & ribs, cap the bridges and assemble the whole thing from scratch, or
you can purchase a pre-made assembly and simply install it yourself.
Alternatively, you can send the case out to a shop that does soundboard
installations and have them do the whole job.  Each approach has its benefits and
its drawbacks.

We manufacture our own soundboards and ribs.  We make our own bridges.  And we
assembly the whole works in-house.  We believe that this gives us better control
over the end product which, for us, is the music.

Yes, replacing soundboards does take some skills and knowledge that goes beyond
the average rebuilding.  But it's not rocket science either.  And it does take
some special equipment.  Wood conditioning rooms, rib-to-soundboard presses, etc.
These can be built by the average rebuilder, but they aren't cheap.  It's not
worth it for just one job.

As you describe the piano in question, it does need a new soundboard.  "Fixing" it
will not fix it.  It is unlikely that the original board had any crown to speak of
before it got wet.  Soaking it for a while certainly didn't help any.

I realize that my answers are fairly generic.  Feel free to contact me with
specific questions if you wish.

Regards,

Del