NoteJB: the following was written in response to a question concerning replacing bridges, board and block in a 115 year old S&S. Bear in mind that the original poster has stated that the board, bridges and block were all in excellent condition and were performing very well. I am responding partially because of an M&H I looked at yesterday and partially the seemingly more and more prevalent attitude of 'put a new one in the old one can't be any good'.......'or won't be any good for much longer'.............(sic) <<"Yes, replace them. The piano will have far more value when the job is finished.">> Is this a "given"? On what 'objective' criteria is this comment based? <<" With the glue joints all made from hide glue and the with the history of the piano's climate unknown there is a measurable doubt that these components will last another 25 years let alone another 115.">> An S&S thingee of this age is 'all' hide glue joints....isn't it? If it is true that the joints in the board/bridge are suspect...isn't it equally true that the joints in the rim/cheeks/keybed are equally suspect? Do we confine our "measurable doubt" to only those items which we 'know how' to replace? How is this "doubt" "measured"? <<" It is remarkable and admirable that the piano has held up so well for so long and the craftsman who built it 115 years ago are to be commended.">> Absolutely agree! <<"It would however be a "better safe than sorry" policy to go ahead and do the works. It is a good bet that the bridge pins are weak,">> Depending on what the "works" means I would agree. Replace and/or refurbish action/keys I most certainly agree. Replace board and bridges?........wellllll probably not and this based on the techs evaluation of the thingees performance at the time of his evaluation. The salient points of performance for a board, old or new, are: sustain time, volume and clarity. When all of these are present, and in they are in acceptable ranges, then the board is acceptable. This particular board and this particular techs evaluation of same say that the board is in outstanding condition using these criteria......................What more could you ask of a "new" board? How many "new" boards have we seen that fail fairly quickly? Will the "new" board last 115 years? Can the old board be as efficient as reported to be if the bridges were in bad shape/loose pins? <<"pounding the next sized tuning pins into a block this old can very well give it the incentive it needs to start coming apart.">> This is a point of agreement and I would have no quarrel with either decision, replace or not replace, depending on close examination of the block. If it is a three section block I would replace it... period........if it is a 5 section block it would depend on the current performance/integrity. There of course is plenty of room for agreement & disagreement in this area and all opinions are valid in their holders' opinion! :-) As for the M&H (AA) I mentioned at the beginning of this response................. It was donated to a local Church by a lady whose family had owned it since it was new. The Lady had thought about getting it rebuilt and keeping it in the family but had been told by two techs in the local area that it needed a new board. She didn't want to put that much money into the piano so she donated it to her church. When I examined the piano yesterday I did not know the reason for the donation........just that the church wanted to have the thingee evaluated. What I found was a board that had crown throughout, whose bridges contained not a 'single' crack, which had tremendous bass power and much, much more than average sustain time throughout the scale................replace this board? Not me. I don't know what caused the "replace board" advice from the other two techs (I don't know who they were) but based on what I found it could not have been based on 'any' "objective" criteria. I try to keep in mind that just because I 'can' do it doesn't mean that I 'should' do it. I try to keep in mind that the order of priority in my work is........ Piano first, Customer second and then me...small case. :-) If I am honest with all three all will be well. My Views. JIm Bryant (FL)
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