Sound board repair with strings

[Roger Jolly]

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Hi Wim,
              I have done several satisfactory repairs with the strings on, 
in the following manner.

Drape the grand in blankets to the floor,  and hang 2  X  50Watt Damp 
Chaser heater rods to the beams.

Leave for 3 to 4 days to dry the piano down, cracks usually open up quite 
nicely.

Thread a piece of string under the strings.

Now you need a second pair of hands to help you.

Attach string to some PVC electrical tape,  Kind of play tug of war with 
your helper and pull the tape with the string, keeping the shiny side 
sliding along the underside of the strings.

Position and align over crack.

Starting from the approximate centre of the tape Smooth it out over the 
crack with rubber mute.

Flip piano up side down

Use a hypodermic to fill the crack with thin West system epoxy, You can 
tint the epoxy with paint stain, to make the repair very hard to 
find.   One drip is all that is needed.  Wait about 2 hrs and you can trim 
any excess epoxy, quite neatly with a sharp  chisel.
It will have the consistency of rubber.
If you don't add a drop of stain, the epoxy shows like a dark clear pencil 
line.

Leave 24hrs to cure.

Set up piano and remove tape.

Caution do not use masking tape. The epoxy will wick into it, and you will 
have one heck of a mess to clean up.  Don't ask how I know.  Blush, blush. Ops.

Regards Roger






At 10:17 PM 3/12/2003 -0500, you wrote:
>In a message dated 3/13/03 1:03:35 AM !!!First Boot!!!, 
>swiftspiano@hotmail.com writes:
>
>>Another thought that occurred to me is using a thick epoxy.  Again, turn the
>>piano upside down and repair from the bottom.  This method might even bond
>>the board under the rims.
>
>
>This method could work, but you would need to let the tension down. Use 
>masking tape to cover the cracks from the soundboard side.
>
>Then turn the piano upside down, and use A runny wood filler epoxy, the 
>type Webb Phillips sells, to fill in the cracks. After the epoxy has 
>dried, turn the piano back over, and remove the masking tape, and retune 
>the piano.
>
>I've done this with the stirrings off, but it might work with the strings 
>on. The main problem is getting under the plate, if there are cracks there.
>
>Wim

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