old Bechstein plate

[Farrell]

I own a 1900 Bechstein grand. It has a traditional cast iron plate. What 
makes you think this piano has a bronze plate?

Terry Farrell

----- Original Message ----- 
> Last week I posted a message about what to expect from an old Bechstein
> grand; thanks to those who replied.  I went to check it out on Friday.
> Serial number was in the 88000s, so according to Pierce, it was built in
> 1908.  It appeared to be all original, with the exception of one agraffe 
> in
> the high treble which didn't match the others (it had agraffes all the way
> to the top -- no V-bar).  Both soundboard and pinblock (open pinblock) had
> numerous cracks, but the kindly old pastor who owns it wasn't interested 
> in
> having any extensive repairs done.  I explained that because of the 
> cracked
> pinblock, the tuning probably wouldn't hold very long.  He said he
> understood and to go ahead with the tuning, so I did, and he was happy 
> with
> the results.
>
> Anyway, the plate in this piano appeared to be made of bronze, cast in
> separate pieces and bolted together.  I have heard of aluminum plates, but
> never bronze.  Did Bechstein use bronze, or is it another metal with an
> unusual paint job?  This is the first Bechstein I've ever worked on, so I
> don't have anything to compare it with.
>
> Thank you,
> Paul Mulik, Joplin MO
>