<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> <big>Just about to replace moth eaten damper felt on a 1860's square partial rebuild....Hey Terry, looks like this Square rebuilding is catching...We could be on the cusp of something <big>BIG...<G>...or maybe a couple of isolated cases of some new techy illness.</big></big>  Joe Said about square dampers: <It has to be done in the piano, for the most part. Preliminary cutting to size can speed up the process, but not much. Good...this confirms my plan of attack. That's the only way I could figure to screw them back in without destroying the new felt. <I have encountered many squares that techs have "modernized" with wedge type damper felt. The results were dampers interferring with each other, all over the place and major ring-through, (more than what was originally designed)! Do Not EVER, try to make it dampen like a modern piano, it was not designed that way and it's pretty much impossible anyway! Thanks in advance...whewww!... <big>Regarding soundboard, bridge work, like Terry, the plate stayed in...low budget... Having never worked on one of these boards, I wasn't sure what to expect as far as crown. I'm convinced though, given the structure, that  downbearing was never part of the idea, and the board will self adjust to close to zero or no bearing.  I'm curious to see what this sounds like. My guess is that it will just mean no sustain, which in lots of period music is actually a good thing.  If anything,  I think the strings will hold the board up. Repaired the board, but only in places where the bridges exploded and/or separated from the board. Also decided to drop the string scale to 425 Hz, for safe keeping. Jim Ialeggio  </big> <pre> </pre> <pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">-- Jim Ialeggio <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:jim@grandpianosolutions.com">jim@grandpianosolutions.com</a> (978) 425-9026 Shirley, MA</pre> </body> </html>