followup to: Crack fillers - old soundboards

[Joseph Garrett]

Wallace,
IMHO the method you are proposing, is, for the most part, only going to
affect the cosmetics. I would first try to "roll and twist" the bass strings
to see if the problem lies there. If the piano has iron wrap, instead of
copper, the likelyhood is in the wrap and you will not realize much
improvement, in sound, either way. If the piano has copper wound strings,
then "livening" should produce some improvement. Unless you are going to
wedge the sound board up, with leather covered wedges, and then inject
epoxy, as you suggest, then you may realize some improvement in sound.
regards,
Joe Garrett
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wallace Scherer" <p003520b@pb.seflin.org>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2001 12:00 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>
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>
>
> ---------- 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>
>
>
>
>