Hello All! I don't have the experience of having a plate breaking on me while tuning.... thank goodness.... however, I have seen and reluctantly worked on many repaired Bechstein plates. It is sortof un-fair to classify a brand name with problems such as this..... based on one small fact. the weakness of a plate can be determined from various causes starting from an inconsistent or even "cold" pour, to a weak spot or impurity (slag) in the casting. It is also true that plates of older vintages were often poured into un-controlled molds. this means the mold may have been colder than a desired temperature. When hot molten metal is poured, if it is allowed to cool slowly, it remains maleable. The quicker cooling outer layer of poured metal that touches a cold mold however, can cause a layer of hard brittle metal. This is called a "case depth". Case depth heat treating can be important when intentionally designed into something. ie: bearing shafts are case depth hardened and ground to a polish look. In a piano plate, it may cause thinner areas of cast to be brittle and prone to breakage. so thats my $0.02 worth. God Bless, Mark Perry www.carvedpianoparts.com > From: pianoman at accessus.net > To: pianotech at ptg.org > Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:01:22 -0500 > Subject: Re: [pianotech] Brands prone to breaking plates > > So far, I have had only 1 plate break on me while tuning. It was back in > the early 1960s and I was tuning an Estey console (used) the day before > delivery at Aeolian Co. of MO. All of a sudden CRACK as I had just made > the jump to the treble section from the middle. That model Estey has no > flange area on the perimeter of the plate. The plate is almost flat. My > employers gave me the piano and I used its casework and used it to reframe > my bathroom window. Probably the only bathroom window made of genuine > veneered mahogany. > James > James Grebe > Since 1962 > Piano Tuning & Repair > Creator of Handsome Hardwood Products( > 314) 608-4137 1526 Raspberry Lane Arnold, MO 63010 > Researcher of St. Louis Theatre History > BECOME WHAT YOU BELIEVE! > www.grebepiano.com > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ryan Sowers" <tunerryan at gmail.com> > To: <pianotech at ptg.org> > Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2009 11:25 AM > Subject: [pianotech] Brands prone to breaking plates > > > > Oh wise list, > > > > I remember Jack Wyatt listing off a bunch of piano brands that are > > notorious > > for breaking plates. It would be great to compile a master list of these > > pianos and have them published for the benefit of posterity. > > > > Let the list begin! What brands should we watch out for? > > > > -- > > Ryan Sowers, RPT > > Puget Sound Chapter > > Olympia, WA > > www.pianova.net > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ Rediscover Hotmail®: Get e-mail storage that grows with you. http://windowslive.com/RediscoverHotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Rediscover_Storage2_042009 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech_ptg.org/attachments/20090417/5a444d75/attachment.html>
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