Foundry Castings

[David Ilvedson]

I would think that several of the leading manufacturers...Yamaha, for example
would have researched this and come the conclusion that cast iron is the best
material for job.  Cost included.  The material would have to be easy to machine/grind etc.
What could take its place?

David I.


----- Original message ---------------------------------------->
From: Ron Nossaman <RNossaman@cox.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Received: Tue, 27 Aug 2002 17:26:21 -0500
Subject: Re: Foundry Castings


>>Just why do we think gray iron is the best of all possible materials to
>>use for piano plates anyway? What is it about gray iron that is so special?

>I think we don't think it's better so much as we just don't think about it
>at all. So much of piano design is momentum of entrenched "standards" that
>there's no reason I can see to think plates would be immune from the
>attitude. I'm thinking that gray cast iron was the coin of the realm at the
>time plates were first being put into pianos. At that time, you couldn't
>throw a hat out of a window without hitting something made of cast iron. It
>was about as common then as plastic is now - well, almost. There were more
>than a few foundries around that were equipped to cast something like a
>piano plate, it was cheap, there were lots of experienced pattern makers,
>and it was a relatively quick and easy way to make a frame that would
>handle the tonnage of the new higher tension scales. What else did they
>have at the time that was more cost effective and would still do the job? I
>think cast iron was the first thing they reached for, and it worked well
>enough to satisfy them.

>I think these mantras of rigidity and non resonance are just
>rationalizations that developed later as justification for doing it like it
>was always done and not exploring other alternatives. I'm OK, you're OK.
>Don't improve - decorate. Once these mantras are encoded into the gene
>pool, they become TRUTHS, whether they're defensibly logical or not. Who
>wants the responsibility for questioning these truths? They'd have to
>overcome a lot of static weight (belief) to make any headway. Easier to
>just go along.

>Ron N