<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html>   I gots to aggree with Jon here.. nice post btw... I have spent the last two years doing exclusively shims for crack repairs.. Just wanted to get reasonably good at that process in a general move towards improving my woodworking skills.  But aside from the difference in color, I generally like the results I get from epoxy fills better. I have yet to see an epoxy fill ever show a new crack adjacent to it. As for the cosmetics of all this with crack fills... I am not quite convinced that repairing cracks doesnt somehow help the structure of the panel and ribs in general. Especially in the case of an epoxy fill. How much tho is an open question. I think most rebuilders aggree that it has little or nothing to do with the panels acoustic charachteristics tho.   Jon Page wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE>  Acknowledge that it is there to the potential customer. What difference does it make if the crack has been filled-in with a shim, it's only a cosmetic repair. If it is not buzzing it is fine. A shim is not an insurance that the board will not separate from the ribs down the line. I'm leaning towards epoxy repairs now, I've seen too many cracks running alongside shims from previous repairs. If I am asked for a guarantee on a  sounding board, I simply guarantee that it will crack given the right circumstances. Given that it is cracked already, it's probably done its worst, look on the bright side. Developing a sense of PR and a little schmoozing backed by plain facts never hurts. Rappore and integrity sell pianos. It's when you sell them sight unseen is when you have made the honor hall of fame. Best of Luck,    Jon Page,   piano technicianHarwich Port, Cape Cod, Mass.<a href="mailto:jonpage@mediaone.net" EUDORA="AUTOURL">mailto:jonpage@mediaone.net</a>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</blockquote> -- Richard Brekne Associate PTG, N.P.T.F. Bergen, Norway  </html>