<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.3354" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=160245707-04082008> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=160245707-04082008><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008>Michael Spreeman wrote:</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008>>>How are y'all removing your original blocks?  I've seen 3 styles of Stnwy stretchers. On the ones with an angle on the outer face and perpendicular on the inner face, we had an angled piece of spruce we would we would tape to the front of the stretcher in to run the router along (with the Bolduc cutter). This results in a perpendicular cut at the block joint.</SPAN></FONT></DIV></DIV></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=160245707-04082008><FONT size=2></FONT></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=160245707-04082008><FONT size=2>Michael:</FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008>That's a good trick!</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008>I don't know if anyone else answered your question yet, but there are a couple of ways I have tried it. The first method I saw them using in one of the better known New York rebuilding shops many years ago. This involved cutting the old pinblock out with a demolition type saw. The problem with this is you could only get so close to the stretcher and then you would have to chisel off the last 3/4" or so by hand. This worked well for me for many years, it was just time consuming. I made a special fixture to protect the stretcher, and padded it with felt. I was considering the Bolduc cutter/router setup though, until someone showed me a much faster way (at least for where I live, read on.)</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008><IMG alt="" hspace=0 src="cid:160245707@04082008-2498" align=baseline border=0></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008>Some years later a very experienced rebuilder visited my shop and showed me an easier way. He said he just broke the stretcher to pinblock joint with a mallet. He himself used a leather mallet, but I have had just as good results with my 3 lb sledge I use for stringing and a stout block of pinblock material or Finn birch.  Here in California the humidity isn't that high (about 30% to 40% where I am, but sometimes up to 50%) so the glue is more brittle and the joint breaks easily (no, you don't have to whack it so hard it breaks the stretcher). A few judicious taps will let you see how much of a swing you need. Usually I can separate the entire joint within a minute or two. </SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008></SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008><IMG alt="" hspace=0 src="cid:160245707@04082008-249F" align=baseline border=0></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008>Then the task is to cut the dowels. With wedges or something else to hold the joint slightly open, locate and cut the dowels with a hacksaw blade. A piece of cardboard will prevent damage to the stretcher finish or veneer. The advantage of this is that it allows you to remove the entire pinblock fairly intact to use as a pattern for the new one.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008><IMG alt="" hspace=0 src="cid:160245707@04082008-24A6" align=baseline border=0></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008>Some technicians are concerned this won't work without damaging the stretcher.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008>I would imagine, from what I have heard, that cutting the old block out with the Bolduc cutter, (or a Sawzall or Tiger Saw) may be be necessary in high humidity areas, maybe that's why they sawed them out in New York. Probably in the West or Desert States where it's dry you would have better luck with method #2. Having sawed them out, I definitely prefer breaking the joint, if you can, it's much faster. I have done this with several blocks now and there has never been any problem with stretcher damage. Some veneer might occasionally come off the back of the stretcher, stuck to the pinblock, but this is usually not a problem, (and usually happens anyway even if you saw the block out and then chisel out the remains.) Usually it makes a pretty clean break, simply because the hide glue is brittle.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008>I believe it was Art Reblitz who said in one of his player rebuilding books that player stacks that would easily break apart in Colorado would have to be sawn apart in Chicago, because of the strength of the hide glue in a humid environment. Apparently it's harder and more brittle where the climate is drier. Depending on your climate, you may or may not be able to break the joint this way. But it's worth a try. I know I'm not the only tech out here doing it this way.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008>Being a pianist, there are a couple of tools I just think are too risky for me. Although I know the Bolduc cutter can be used safely in the right hands, I just have my own reservations about using a 4" blade on a hand-held router. The piano supply house that sells them strongly recommended that they only be used on a router with a trigger switch immediately under the finger "just in case". That was enough for me. That puts it in the same category for me as a radial arm saw, which I also will not use, because you always have to try and anticipate just exactly where the blade is going to be, or what might go wrong, which varies with each setup.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008>~Kendall Ross Bean</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=160245707-04082008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV> <DIV align=left> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=533361603-16112007>PianoFinders</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=533361603-16112007><A title=http://www.pianofinders.com href="http://www.pianofinders.com/">www.pianofinders.com</A></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=533361603-16112007>e-mail: <A title=mailto:kenbean@pianofinders.com href="mailto:kenbean@pianofinders.com">kenbean@pianofinders.com</A></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=533361603-16112007></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=533361603-16112007><EM>Connecting Pianos and People</EM></SPAN></FONT></DIV></DIV></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=533361603-16112007><EM></EM></SPAN></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>