Dear List: I just returned from a piano evaluation, for a customer looking to buy a (32 year old) small model 350 Kawai grand, walnut veneer, for $4500. Everything looked AOK EXCEPT: the bridge gain (cf. Mason, he also calls it the bridge core; I'd call it the bridge body) is separating along the diagonal joint 3-4 notes above the tenor/treble break. There's minor cracking of the bridge surface at the bridge pins, but there's clearly been some glue joint failure at the joint in the body of the bridge (the sides of the bridge are no longer flush, the joint line is too prominent). No tonal deficiencies because of it (yet). I'm (optimistically) thinking I could fix this in the home by running screws with washers through the separated parts, soak epoxy into the slight but real separation, etc. I'm hoping that with 2-3 sessions the bridge should be AOK. Have any of you had success with this kind of repair on other Asian pianos (I've seen this as a problem area on all of their long bridges)? Or should I tell my customer to back out of the deal? Comments, Jim Jon Ron Roger et al?
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