Shimming - was: Was it something I said?

[Delwin D Fandrich]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Farrell" <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: January 08, 2001 5:42 AM
Subject: Shimming - was: Was it something I said?


> Makes sense Del. I fit my shims by adjusting the thickness of them (they
are
> cut on a small angle as is the slot - trimming the thickness makes them
> wider or narrower). Therefore, I start with shims thicker than my board.
How
> does one get around this using old soundboard stock that is the same
> thickness or thinner than the target board? Laminate two thicknesses
> together? Are we not then moving toward a shim that is stronger than the
> target board?
>
> Terry Farrell
-------------------------------------------------------

Don't know, Terry. Laminating them might work. I haven't shimmed a board
with either old or new wood since sometime in the very early 70s, having
switched to epoxy about that time. Once I did my first epoxy 'shim' I never
went back -- in spite of the many critics of the day who assured me that
they wouldn't work. They did then and they still do today. Of course, today
we mostly replace boards rather than shim them.

Which ever is you elixir of choice, shimming or epoxying, it's good to keep
in mind that both are strictly cosmetic repairs. Neither does anything
acoustical, either good or bad, regardless of the material used or the
quality of the work done. Well, ok, a really badly done shim could buzz, I
suppose, and that's acoustical.

Del