Jim, My PTG chapter discussed bass bridge repair at a chapter meeting this summer, just before I did one. Some photos are attached. The archives have good stuff under "Bass Bridge", especially Newton Hunt, John Ross, Joe Goss, all on March 7, 1999. See also John Page Jan 7, 1997. There is a cheap way, and the right way. What is their budget? Is the rest of the piano worth the work? The cheap way is to inject or slather in epoxy and screw it together enough to stop the rattles and get some transmission of sound, without taking everything apart. The right way is to tilt the piano, remove the bass strings, clean and repair gluing surfaces, shim to get downbearing, and epoxy and screw and/or dowel the bridge back in place. It took me six hours to do the "right way", which included placing the bass strings back on their hitch pins (no tension) before tilting the piano back up (saves your back). I came back a few days later to pull it up to pitch (three passes through the bass, tenor touchup). I'm sure our more expert rebuilders are laughing. They probably rip through this in two hours. Plan on epoxy with gap filler add-in. Plan on letting it cure before tuning. Plan on a HUGE improvement in tone. If you don't know how much downbearing there should be in the bass, start reading. You need some, but too much is as bad as too little. The photos show a bridge with an intact cap, but the root separated from the shelf, which was also separated from the soundboard. The cross-grain construction of the shelf destroyed the joints, and also split the shelf. I didn't try to rejoin the split, but rather hope that the gap will prevent another self-destruct sequence. There were dowels in the shelf to soundboard joint that were a little stubborn, but had moved so much in the soundboard that they could not be used to relocate the shelf. Use thread to place the bridge and check downbearing. Measure from several points before you take it apart so that you can put it back where it belongs. I glued and screwed the bridge to the shelf from underneath the shelf. (You couldn't do this if the shelf was still attached to the soundboard. You would have to screw from the bridge side between the strings.) Then, I glued and screwed the shelf to the soundboard at the ribs, clamping it firmly enough to allow me to replace the strings slack, tip up the piano, and run in several more screws from the back between the ribs, using soundboard buttons. Purists would have removed the screws and filled the holes with dowels after the epoxy was cured. This piano didn't need the deluxe treatment. Bring along some solid copper wire to keep the bass strings in order, without untwisting them as they come off the hitch pin. Check the bridge pins and tuning pins while the piano is on its back. This is a great time to apply CA where needed. Tighten bottom board screws. Lube casters. Like the 90 year old who bent over to tie his shoes would say "What else can I do while I'm down here?" If anyone spots any fatal errors, please let me know. I'm always interested in quality improvement. Gregory Graham Registered Piano Technician I II III II III II III II III II III II III II III Graham Piano Service PO Box 615 Brodheadsville, PA 18322 grahampianos at yahoo.com Phone 610-381-4482 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Bass Bridge unglued.jpg Type: image/pjpeg Size: 35305 bytes Desc: 1973411743-Bass Bridge unglued.jpg Url : https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20070927/e0f06adf/attachment-0005.bin -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: bass bridge repair 1.jpg Type: image/pjpeg Size: 76952 bytes Desc: 1345151317-bass bridge repair 1.jpg Url : https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20070927/e0f06adf/attachment-0006.bin -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: bass bridge repair 2.jpg Type: image/pjpeg Size: 42704 bytes Desc: 2872244581-bass bridge repair 2.jpg Url : https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20070927/e0f06adf/attachment-0007.bin -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: bass bridge repair 3.jpg Type: image/pjpeg Size: 38606 bytes Desc: 748037663-bass bridge repair 3.jpg Url : https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20070927/e0f06adf/attachment-0008.bin -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: bass bridge repair 4.jpg Type: image/pjpeg Size: 42843 bytes Desc: 350070915-bass bridge repair 4.jpg Url : https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20070927/e0f06adf/attachment-0009.bin
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