Cracked plate

[Barrie Heaton]

In message <a05100316b83fefedc0c8@[195.147.232.123]>, John Delacour
<JD@Pianomaker.co.uk> writes
>
>I once had a B (which ought to have been all right) and which had no
>cracks.  When I unscrewed the rim screws, that plate lifted off the
>seating at the toe a full three inches if not more (it's an experience I try
>to forget!).  When we refitted the plate, we had to modify the seating in
>order to get it to lie flat.

I have found that all the virgin Bec's I have done, rocked on the pillar
bolts 3 turns down and the plate is flat, but then you must put the 3
turns back when all the other bolts are in place (it tests your bottle),
1#  this puts the frame bars in  tension, most Bec's i have seen with
major cracks that I have destrung did not rock when you removed the
frame, However, i have had reports of frames having cracks on virgin
plates but not very bad.   My next but one project is a Becky with
cracks in the bars and running from the agraffe, which you can pass a
playing card most of the way up the crack.     A bit of pub trivia;  not
all Bechsteins were made in Germany some were made in the UK by
Hopkinnson and Rogers.


1# this is my pet theory, when I was at Hunts we tested this out,  a
fire damaged grand came in with 3 nice cracks.  with the piano up to
pitch  a spanner and a very long piece of rope we turned the bolts and
the cracks did  closed a bit.

-- 
Barrie Heaton      PGP key on request           http://www.a440.co.uk/
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