Soundboard repair question

[Richard Brekne]

Hi Annie

I guess I've just come to the conclusion that if its worth taking the 
time to destring the piano and remove the plate so as to get at the 
cracks... then its far better to just replace the soundboard... hence I 
am working up my knowledge and skills in this area.  After just a few 
runs through the process I can already say that the total amount of work 
involved is not allllll that much more then shimming... yet the net gain 
for what the customer pays for is at least 10 fold.  I suppose one 
condition for shimming would be to stabilize an old board that for 
whatever reasons (historical for example) was to be retained. 

Cheers
RicB


    You don't fill cracks?  So, it's either replace the board or leave
    it alone?
    (That seems really sensible.)  Under what conditions do you decide to
    replace it, then?

    Annie G.