followup to: Crack fillers - old soundboards

[Richard Brekne]

Hi Wallace... based on what you write below I repeat my first response... Dont
do anything. If it aint broke dont fix it.

You say you only notice a dead bass sound. Fixing cracks in the fashion you
mention below simply wont help that condition at all. In fact its doubtfull that
fixing cracks alone no matter what the fashion will help that situation much if
at all.

In any case there is no way I would go near these cracks with a syringe and
needle full of epoxy with the strings on... too easy to make a mess, and you
cant make the job look nice when its all done hardening.

My advice is to not do anything...except perhaps simply say if its going to get
repaired it needs a bit more work then what you origionally thought.

JMV

Wallace Scherer wrote:

> 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>

--
Richard Brekne
RPT, N.P.T.F.
Bergen, Norway
mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no