<br><br> <div class="gmail_quote">On Dec 23, 2007 6:54 PM, Annie Grieshop <<a href="mailto:annie@allthingspiano.com">annie@allthingspiano.com</a>> wrote:<br> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">Here's something that's been bothering me for a few days:  has anyone on<br>this group actually been in the vicinity of a plate breaking? <br><br>I've heard lots of dire warnings (and they all make a great deal of sense!),<br>but I'd like a first-hand report from someone who has witnessed spontaneous<br>self-destruction (or the immediate aftermath). <br><br>Not fire, not sledge hammers, not gravity, not chainsaws, not trebuchets --<br>a piano that gave up the potential energy ghost on its own, of its own<br>volition.<br><br>It's been fun to consider what the sequence of events would be, but now I'd <br>appreciate hearing from someone who's been there, done that.  (Tell me<br>horror stories!  Scare me even more about that dratted Brambach! <g>)<br><br>Thanks, as always.<br><font color="#888888"><br>Annie Grieshop <br><br><br></font></blockquote></div> <div><br><br clear="all">Hi Annie,</div> <div> </div> <div>I start my 39th year soon and haven't had one break while I was tuning it(yet) I have not heard from those who have about shrapnel, just noise as Clark said like a shotgun blast. I suppose given the forces present it is possible but most of the plate is held down by bolts, strings, etc. and covered by cabinet in verticals. </div> <div> </div> <div>I tend to look for signs of trouble along the lines of what John Ross outlined, block/back seperations, loose perimeter bolts/screws, misaligned action or dampers. I have bolted many pianos back together and mine don't re-open. I use 1/2" carriage bolts with large washers under the head to disperse the tension over a wider area of wood. If a 1/2" is too large for the job, say in a Baldwin spinet I use grade 5 or grade 8  7/16" or even 3/8" to accomplish the job. If the screws are under the strings in the bass I use jam nuts, a nut that is half the thickness of a standard nut. It's all about being creative to get the job done correctly. I close the gap with 3/4" pipe clamps then tighten the bolts to hold the seperation closed. I use 1/2" drive deep sockets to tighten them with a 16" breaker bar for final tightening. </div> <div>When I check perimeter bolts/screws if I find stripped ones I remove them, singly, use old broken hammer shanks split in half that I've saved for that purpose with a little titebond in the hole then I replace the bolt or screw. </div> <div> </div> <div>Mike</div> <div>- <br>People who say it can't be done, should not interrupt those of us who are doing it.<br>Michael Magness<br>Magness Piano Service<br>608-786-4404<br><a href="http://www.IFixPianos.com">www.IFixPianos.com</a> <br>email <a href="mailto:mike@ifixpianos.com">mike@ifixpianos.com</a> </div>