Bridge Recap Time

[Farrell]

> I trust that answers your question.

Almost, but not quite. I like your idea of complete replacement. The reason
I epoxied was that I knew it would work, but I have not recapped a bridge
yet, and I was darned sure I wasn't going to do my first one in front of a
client in their home. At least if I can get the task into my shop I can make
all the reversible errors I may be inclined to make and just do it over, and
over, and over.

Take the old bridge off. Go to my shop make a lot of errors. Finally get it
right. Re-install. I like it. I will do it that way next time.

The one question. I know how to get a bass bridge off that just falls off.
And I know how to get a bass bridge off from a soundboard that is going to
be scrapped. BUT, how do you go about removing a bass bridge that is
well-attached without wrecking the board or bridge or apron? AND do you
generally remove the apron from the board, or the bridge from the apron -
assuming you are not working on one of Del's designs. Oh, please enlighten
me.

And remember, here you are in the "Land of a Little Bit of Mercy". Maybe.
Depending on your answer.  ;-)  Thanks

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Tampa, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Nossaman" <RNossaman@KSCABLE.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2001 11:15 PM
Subject: Re: Bridge Recap Time


> Hey, no fair!
>
> I'm out there in the "Land of NO Mercy" with seven pianos on the list an
> hour and a half away from home, with (nearly) EVERY one of the owners
> saying "It hasn't been tuned since prior to the invention of mice, which
> are (since) in evidence, but while you're here - could you fix...(insert
> curse)". Today, I removed 2 unregulated but mercifully unplugged heater
> bars, traveled 4.2 parsecs (at worp 0.0000125 (mach 0.014)), and juggled
> scheduling nine times while chasing the phantoms of disrepair, ill
> conceived design and production, unavailability of piano access at any
> specific time, and cumulative neglect (the pianos, not me. I got lots of
> attention today) and return to the sanctuary of home and hearth to find
> I've been put on the spot by the large hairy technician that isn't even
all
> that hairy (yet, but I have hope). So be it.
>
> I'm too old and tired to pretend to be bionic, but I can still make a bass
> bridge out of horizontally laminated pinblock stock (Delignit, or the 11
> ply Schaff stuff I used many moons ago) in about an hour and a half.
That's
> faster than I can repair the root, recap, etc, so I obviously prefer to
> replace rather than recap when I can get the darn thing out of the piano
in
> the first place. A couple of episodes of epoxying in place that took twice
> the time blasting the old bridge and apron out and making new ones from
> scratch (as necessary depending on the apron) would have taken have
> generally biased me toward making replacements and torching the originals.
> I hear that "A" type personalities burn bridges at both ends, but I prefer
> all at once. There's a certain sense of "closure" in global flambe'. In
> addition to being more efficient and educational, making new bass bridges
> instills the illusion (in the customer, hopefully) that the tech is
> nominally omnipotent, or at least adequately prestidigitational, and
> generally enhances the subjective impression of the final outcome toward
> the positive. "Gee, it's really shiny, ain't it?" Gettin' the sucker off
in
> the first place is the rub, from the tech's perspective.
>
> Removing and replacing strings takes the time that removing and replacing
> strings takes, as does lowering and raising tension. That's a given,
though
> variable, with any bridge repair/replacement. This doesn't factor
> differently into any proposed bridge repair procedure than it does in any
> other.
>
> I suppose the bottom line is the difference between the estimated time it
> takes to get the bridge and apron off, and the actual time it takes,
> deducted from the difference between the time it takes to epoxy the
> existing mess, verses the time it takes to fabricate a new bridge, added
to
> the time it takes to attach the new bridge assembly after fabrication
> verses the setting on your butt time required for the epoxy to cure. Give
> or take.
>
> I trust that answers your question.
>
>
> Ron N
>