<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" = http-equiv=Content-Type> <META content="MSHTML 5.00.2614.3500" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: = 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A href="mailto:Maxpiano@AOL.COM" = title=Maxpiano@AOL.COM>Maxpiano@AOL.COM</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" title=pianotech@ptg.org>pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, June 27, 2001 = 9:15 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Buzz problem</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>I ran into a problem today that I could not correct despite an = hour of trying <BR>before tuning the piano.  I was stymied despite my = nearly 50 years' <BR>experience tuning pianos.  Has anyone on the list = experienced the same and <BR>found the answer?<BR><BR>The piano:  a Baldwin = Howard spinet, S/N 1,095,157 (1976).  A rattling buzz <BR>with hollow, = false tone in the first octave or so of the bass indicated a <BR>loose bass bridge.  Not so.  Bridge was tight to the shelf, the shelf = tight <BR>to the sound board.  Yet pressure against the bridge would = restore the tone <BR>just as with a loose bridge.  Seating strings made = no change.<BR><BR>Pulled the piano out from the wall.  No junk lying = there, no loose ribs, no <BR>separation of the sound board from the = liner.  I scraped the sound <BR>board-to-liner joint for loose glue.  I got = a bit but there was no change in <BR>the tone.  I checked the sound = board button screws, all except one were <BR>tight.  Anchored that one = and still no change.<BR><BR>I noted one curious fact:  from the = front, I could stop the buzz by pressing <BR>elsewhere, such as on the tenor = bridge above the "loose" area and on the <BR>board in the same area.  = Checked the area between plate and board with a <BR>flexible steel, but found nothing.  Checked with a mirror to see if the plate <BR>was = coming loose bottom, but its "nubs" were right up against the = board.<BR><BR>>From the back, with the customer banging low C, I was able again to silence = <BR>the buzz by pressing in the general area of the bass bridge.  Then I = became <BR>aware that there was a scraping, grating sound as I pressed in on = the board, <BR>and again as I released it.  (I recall a similar = experience with a new <BR>Baldwin grand in the early '70's; I never did hear how = the dealer handled <BR>it.)  There is a hole in the sound board = (plate bolt) in this area, but there <BR>is plenty of clearance with the = bolt.  <BR><BR>The board gives the impression of solid spruce, but the joints = visible in the <BR>front do not correspond with the joints visible from the = rear. Am I dealing <BR>with a laminated board and could it be delaminating?  = If so, what can be done <BR>about it?  The cutouts around plate bolts = show no separation, yet the area <BR>around the plate bolt between bass and = tenor bridges is the area where <BR>pressure silences the buzz.<BR><BR>Since = I am on a trip, the customer is over 100 miles from my home and I will <BR>be = passing by their home on my way back in two days (Friday), I would = <BR>appreciate any input from the group.<BR><BR>Bill Maxim, RPT<BR>Columbia, SC</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>    Where a nose bolt passes through the = soundboard, look at the edge of the wood with a bright light to see if there are layers = (laminated).  How to tell if it's delaminating, I don't = know.</DIV> <DIV>    Do the bridges rub against the plate or a = plate strut anywhere?</DIV> <DIV>            --Dave = Nereson, RPT</DIV> <DIV><BR> <BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>