[pianotech] Bridge agraffes FYI

[Encore Pianos]

Uneven wear on which inner surfaces?  

 

I have known rebuilders who replaced these bridges with a traditional one,
as you suggest.

 

As for the squeaky pedal, I can't hear it over the false beats J

 

Nothing unusual on the pedals.

 

Will

 

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Euphonious Thumpe
Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2012 8:20 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Bridge agraffes FYI

 


Will,
I don't doubt that the wood may be a factor. But I also suspect that the
relatively "lively" environment of the vibrating bridge ( as opposed to the
normal agraffe home -- a plate) contributes to all sorts of uneven wear on
the inner surfaces. Perhaps these could be reamed, but a belly job with a
conventional bridge is all that I've heard truly fixes the glitch. (And
Sohmer, a fine American make, and the last to be owned by its founding
family, made a truly unfortunate boo-boo on this one!)

Thumpe

P.S. I have one of these in my "route": owned by a hospital CEO here, with
the same trashy overtones. But it also had a very bad squeaky pedal problem.
Have you encountered that in yours?

 

  _____  

From: David Love <davidlovepianos at comcast.net>; 
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>; 
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Bridge agraffes FYI 
Sent: Fri, Oct 26, 2012 12:06:54 AM 


I would be surprised if the area behind the aggraffe (hitch pin side) was
the source of falseness.  Unless the aggraffe itself had deteriorated (which
it well might have) I don't think any small angle change resulting from some
crushed wood would be the source of poor termination.  The capo section
might well be a source (see attached photo).  

David Love
www.davidlovepianos.com


-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org <javascript:return>
[mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org <javascript:return> ] On Behalf
Of Encore Pianos
Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2012 4:20 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org <javascript:return> 
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Bridge agraffes FYI

I have a couple of these in my service presently here in New Hampshire, and
have had others in the past.  

These bridges probably sounded pretty good in 1925 when they were new, but
as they age, they can become insanely, incredibly false.  This I would
attribute to the deterioration of the bearing surface of the maple just
behind the agraffe where the string presses into it.  The strings literally
crush the surface reducing the angle of deflection of the string as it exits
the back of the agraffe, and an insecure termination and the falseness is
the result.  I have heard these problems on a number of these agraffed
sohmers, mostly the (stupid) cupid grands.  So I attribute that to a flaw of
the design rather than an isolated incident.

Living in New England, I am in a harsh environment for pianos with dry
winters and humid summers, so perhaps I see more deterioration than you do,
in your more benign environment.  

Will Truitt 



 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20121025/5d8340c3/attachment.htm>