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<DIV>Hi Jon,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Tools we are all interested. Yes please would love to see =
it.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Regards Tony</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Tony Caught<BR>Darwin Australia<BR><A
href="mailto:caute@bigpond.com">caute@bigpond.com</A></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=jonpage@attbi.com href="mailto:jonpage@attbi.com">Jon =
Page</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, December 18, =
2002 9:48
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Bridgetop =
Extravaganza
Revisited</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>I wouldn't trust a shallow fill of epoxy to resurface =
the cap,
recap.<BR><BR>As far as pounding the string, I agree that it is =
over-rated and
have<BR>tapped the bridge pins as Roger Jolly suggested to relieve =
false
beats.<BR>I also devised a tool for removing the natural curve from =
the wire
at the pins<BR>to improve the termination. I posted to the list a few =
years
ago about it,<BR>I have a jpg file if any one is interested in viewing =
it.
<BR><BR>Regards,<BR><BR>Jon Page<BR><BR>At 02:13 AM 12/18/2002 -0800, =
you
wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite"><FONT size=2> =
Hi
All, </FONT><BR><FONT size=2>Just joined, first post =
to this or
any other group. Serendipitous timing, just read all the =
recent
bridgetop/ bridgepin posts. Have a 1985 Stwy D in the shop for =
action
overhaul and restring. I thought I was noticeing something =
funny about
the bridges but was in denial until I started taking all the =
teardown
notes. The plain wire strings have been pounded (seated) into =
the
bridge so that at the edges there is more wire diameter below the =
bridge top
than above it. When viewed from the side the wire makes a =
pronounced
curve up onto the bridge and down again out the rear making accurate =
component readings impossible to do from on top of the wire. =
It was
showing negative front bearing until I realized what was happening =
and
started using the actual bridgetop as reference. Situation is =
most
severe at capo sections and diminishes down to what looks like =
normal
grooves to me under the bass strings. Deflection in strung =
piano is .5
deg at bottom of low capo, 1-1.5 deg rest of capo sweeping up =
to 2.5
deg at note 88. There is .250" crown at low capo. =
(measured from
top of board) </FONT><BR><FONT size=2> Is =
it
possible this condition is due to the quality of the capping
material? I usually work on much older =
instruments. I have
never seen string cuts like this. Also the various pressures =
have
caused dead wood to swell up and check here and there around the
terminations. Again I'm not used to seeing this. =
Inspection of
the pins under magnification shows the string resided in two =
distinct
locations. My theory: Pre- and Post =
Pounding. There
are also a lot of unexplainable nicks on the side of the pins. =
The
pins pull out easily. No cracks to speak of. This is an
institutional piano which has probably been in Southern California =
its whole
life.</FONT><BR><FONT size=2> What I'm thinking =
about
doing is similar to what Dale Erwin just posted. I've never =
done the
epoxy bridge thing but I'm familiar with the nasty stuff. I'm =
imagining
thickening it enough with colloidal silica so it won't run down the =
notches
or too much into the holes and applying it with a small =
spatula. I
want to fill those deep grooves (at least on the speaking side) and =
then
sand the top flat. If I put the stuff on in the morning can I
pare/renotch and redrill at the end of the day before it gets too =
hard and
while I can still find the original holes? </FONT><BR><FONT
size=2> Looking forward to peoples
responses.</FONT><BR> <BR><FONT size=2> I =
want to
stop using the misnomer "string seating" in favor of wire =
straightening (or
something similar) which is what I do at a low lateral angle =
(around
the bridges anyway). I have never been convinced of the need =
of
downward tapping pressure at the bridges. For some reason this =
is one
of the first things new technicians are taught and the thought of =
them going
around with little hammers and pounding on pianos scares me. =
We
straighten wire for control of damper and hammer contact and for =
quick
stabilization of new strings. Perhaps having the wire come =
straight
out of the bridge helps the string to vibrate in a more =
perpendicular plane
even. I don't really know. After you take a few pianos =
apart you
find that even in a negative bearing situation the angled pins hold =
the
string tight to the bridge. If there is so much negative =
bearing that
they don't then no amount of pounding will hold them there. =
But I
guess that is another thread. Right now I need help =
getting out
of this mess. I have finally accepted I have to pull the =
plate.
So much for the quick restring of a fairly new instrument.
</FONT><BR> <BR><FONT size=2>Thanks, Steve
Bellieu</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>