followup to: Crack fillers - old soundboards

[John Ross]

Hi Wally,
How did you determine, that the strings were in good shape?
Is it possible the bass bridge has separated?
I would not think that the bass sound would improve, unless the
cracks were on each side of the bridge, which would not enable
the vibrations to be transferred efficiently.
Regards,
John M. Ross
Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada
piano.tech@ns.sympatico.ca
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wallace Scherer" <p003520b@pb.seflin.org>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2001 4:00 PM
Subject: followup to: Crack fillers - old soundboards


> Hi again,
>
> Thought I'd follow up some of the excellent responses and
elicit some
> further advice after clarifying the issue.
>
> Based on what I have heard on the list and based on what the
customer
> seems to want and not want, here's what I have in mind doing
now. Any
> further advice or words of caution will be appreciated.
>
> 1. From underneath the piano I will place electrical tape over
the 10 or
> so cracks. I will also place some dropcloths on the floor in
case the tape
> doesn't prevent all the drips.
>
> 2. Because of time/money/travel constraints, I will not try to
pre-heat
> the area or force the soundboard up with wedges.
>
> 3. From the top of the piano, with a syringe and needle I will
squirt
> some thin epoxy into the 10 cracks, being careful not to drip
any on the
> strings, which will remain in place.
>
> 4. After the epoxy dries, and the tape is removed, the
soundboard MAY (but
> may not) have a slightly improved sound. (The bass section is
all dead now.)
>
> Note: Removing the strings, inverting the piano, or removing
the piano from
> the house are not options. There is no buzzing - just a dead
bass
> section. Strings are in good shape.
>
> One further question: Has anyone who has used the epoxy crack
filling
> method on soundboards noticed any appreciable improvement in
sound?
>
> Thanks again,
>
> Wally Scherer
> Palm Beach County, Florida
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
--------
> Send e-mail (TEXT ONLY!) to: <WallyTS@iname.com>
> My personal web page: <http://www.geocities.com/vienna/2411>
> My business web page: <http://www.angelfire.com/biz6/afinetune>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2001 15:55:25 -0400 (EDT)
> From: Wallace Scherer <p003520b@pb.seflin.org>
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: Crack fillers - old soundboards
>
> Has anyone out there tried any innovative approaches to sealing
cracks in
> soundboards on old, cheap, baby grand pianos? I'm thinking
about
> something on the order of a medium thickness CA glue, or some
other
> liquid type of material that would fill in the crack.
>
> My customer has an old Winter baby grand with about 10 cracks
in the
> soundboard, but none are very wide, not even paper thickness.
She doesn't
> want to spend much money
> and is willing for me to experiment some. But I thought I'd
better see if
> anyone else has experimented first.
>
> Wally Scherer
> Palm Beach County, Florida
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
--------
> Send e-mail (TEXT ONLY!) to: <WallyTS@iname.com>
> My personal web page: <http://www.geocities.com/vienna/2411>
> My business web page: <http://www.angelfire.com/biz6/afinetune>
>
>
>
>