<HTML>In a message dated 1/4/2003 7:35:01 PM Pacific Standard Time, mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Subj: Re: Restored Baldwin out the door Date: 1/4/2003 7:35:01 PM Pacific Standard Time From: <A HREF="mailto:mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com">mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com</A> Reply-to: <A HREF="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> To: <A HREF="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> Sent from the Internet When you do a board this way, how do you set your downbearing? Thanks. Terry Farrell </BLOCKQUOTE>            Terry            Without being terribly specific I use a pre -stressed method of setting bearing with a graduated downbearing pressures protocol. (Increasing angle of deflection ) It's described well by John Hartman in the August 1995 "The effects of Downbearing on tone" I've come to check/confirm uniformity after it's strung  by using a Lowell buble gauge.  I like to see 6 lines (.018) of movement (residual bearing) thru the bulk of the piano with less at the tenor bridge end and a bit more in the very top treble. I string the tenor/treble chip up to pitch before I recheck/reset my bearing felts and shims in the bass to get appox. 1/2 degree bearing at the crossover down to zero in the bottom of the mono chords.     This is especially sensitive and critical to me when setting bearing on the dreaded cantilever bass bridges so I wait till I can see a very clear picture as how the board squashes down under the plain wire load. This way I can call it right on.    Regards--Dale Erwin</HTML>