At 10:39 PM 6/14/01 -0500, you wrote: >> Piano sounds a >>bit weak and has a bad killer octave area. I measured for downbearing with >>the goofy little three point brass thingee. Absolutely ZERO downbearing on >>the whole long bridge. Everywhere. Zero. Never saw that before. > Hi Terry, Those three legged thingees tell you next to nothing, since you seem to be doing a fair bit of rebuilding type work. Invest in a compound bearing gauge and learn how to measure the defection angles. This way you will have a true picture of what is happening across the bridge. Combine this with the simple string test between each rib, so you have a good idea of where the board is at with regards to crown. Couple this to your hearing and you will have a better evaluation before you start. Since some parts of the board has crown, some improvement MAY be gained by lowering the plate, but I would not bet on it lasting. The question you have to ask your self, if after all this effort is it going to be worth it? A cheap and nasty improvement can some times be made by grinding down the dulex bars if the piano has them. But beware, this also may not last. A bad board is a bad board period. Now I will crawl under my rock, flame suit on. Regards Roger.
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