A.B.Chase soundboard

[Greg Newell]

Joe,
    Thanks for this food for thought. An important little morsel it is too! I
wouldn't want to try and fool someone completely but I wouldn't want the repair
to stand out either. Got to be a happy medium somewhere. You must try and color
the shim somewhat, no? It sure would seem strange to see an obviously white
strand running through an otherwise uniform board.
    Were most boards shellaced from a natural state or were there any dyes used
originally? I've been reading about the advantages of using dyes to even out the
coloration in woods and was wondering if they were commonly used in soundboards.
Every soundboard I've ever seen has had a mostly uniform appearance. I read that
stains usually are blotchy in pine, birch, maple and cherry. Since spruce is
sort of in the pine family I was wondering what if anything was used. I'm
guessing that it was just natural with a topcoat of shellac. Can anyone confirm
this?
    This brings to mind a recent conversation with Bill Wurdack from whom many
of us, it seems, buy bronzing powder for plates. Bill mentioned that they supply
not only the bronzing powder that Steinway uses but every other finishing
product they use as well. The only exception  is the coating S&S uses for the
soundboard as this is some kind of top secret (shhhhhhhhh) formula. This is what
caused me to have the questions from above. Now what could be so important as to
top coats that would alter the sound enough to make S&S have a  completely
different company supplying only that one finishing product? Seems kinda
strange. I wonder if they can actually quantify a difference between using what
they are now (and probably have for years) and virtually anything else. And here
we thought it was the diaphramatic soundboard that made the difference.
    Well, perhaps I've given some something to ponder. Any takers out there?

Greg

Joseph Garrett wrote:

> Greg,
> IMHO Bleaching not only will compromise the glue jointl, but will attack the
> wood itself. It has been my policy, for years, to make it look as nice as
> possible, but not to "hide" the repair. I had an instance with a 9' Knabe,
> where someone had put a faux finish on both sides of the board, after they
> had shimmed. I made the estimate to shim the board, based on the existing
> cracks, etc. When the board was scraped, after the shims were inserted, it
> revealed all of the many shims previously installed. If I could have seen
> those previously installed shims, I would have most definately recommended a
> new board to the client. However, since I was already hip deep and
> committed, that did not happen. The end product was less than acceptable,
> all because someone else covered the work. :-(
> Regards,
> Joe Garrett
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Greg Newell" <gnewell@ameritech.net>
> To: "Pianotech forum" <pianotech@ptg.org>; "Master Piano Tech"
> <mpt@talklist.com>; "College and University Technicians" <caut@ptg.org>
> Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2001 8:30 AM
> Subject: A.B.Chase soundboard
>
> > Dear Lists,
> >     Now you may think me incredibly slow but I've finally completed
> > shimming the soundboard. I've been having trouble conceptualizing how to
> > match the shims to the rest of the board. If I bleach the board to even
> > it out do I not risk compromising the glue joints? If I take the shading
> > approach is there a favorite way you folks out there approach it? I'm
> > hoping to play with this today so anything you say can and may be used
> > by me soon! Thanks in advance for your help.
> >
> > Greg
> >
> > --
> > Greg Newell
> > Greg's Piano Forté
> > 12970 Harlon Ave.
> > Lakewood, Ohio 44107
> > 216-226-3791
> > mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net
> >
> >

--
Greg Newell
Greg's Piano Forté
12970 Harlon Ave.
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
216-226-3791
mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net