[pianotech] Bass bridge repair

[Ron Nossaman]

paul bruesch wrote:
> Thanks David and David.  I considered recapping as it obviously would be 
> the best repair... but if this was in a customer's home (it isn't) would 
> that be feasible for a 1935 Howard console?
> 
> But with two votes for re-capping, I'm seriously re-considering... 
> (thankfully only the bass bridge is damaged.)
> 
> Paul Bruesch

The little cracks are no big deal, at least in the bass. A 
couple of passes of thin CA would take care of them. The 
divots in the bridge end are something else. That's ideally 
going to need some structure. Being a 1935 Howard console 
makes the choice of repair less clear. I've seen epoxy 
repaired bridges that I wouldn't have tried to repair, that 
were still together many years later. It IS a 1935 Howard 
console, after all. My choice, I think, would be to pry the 
bridge out of the piano, take it back to the shop, and make a 
replacement out of solid Delignit. It would probably take me 
less time overall than capping it in the piano, and I'd have a 
nearly immortal replacement - not that it'll come up.
Ron N