<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; =
charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 5.00.2314.1000" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face="Courier New" size=2><SPAN
class=890354520-30102003>Thanks for the info, Terry. I have to go make =
that very
repair to a piano shortly and was contemplating whether or not to lower =
the
pitch first. It this case, the separation is about 1/2" in =
the bass
and about 1/4" in the treble. Those pesky little termites are in there, =
too. I
think they are causing the problem. They are not in the pinblock, =
though, so the
piano is in tune, though 200 cents flat.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face="Courier New" size=2><SPAN
class=890354520-30102003> I was also wondering what size =
bolts to
use, 1/4", 3/8"? What do you recommend?</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face="Courier New" size=2><SPAN
class=890354520-30102003>Thanks.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face="Courier New" size=2><SPAN
class=890354520-30102003></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face="Courier New" size=2><SPAN
class=890354520-30102003>Richard</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV align=left class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr><FONT =
face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> =
pianotech-bounces@ptg.org
[mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org]<B>On Behalf Of =
</B>Farrell<BR><B>Sent:</B>
Thursday, October 30, 2003 8:09 AM<BR><B>To:</B>
pianotech@ptg.org<BR><B>Subject:</B> Pinblock Separation Repair & =
Pitch
Change<BR><BR></DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Differing opinions regarding the benefit of =
lowering
pitch prior to drawing a pinblock/backpost separation back together =
have been
expressed on this list. I am one that generally feels more =
comfortable
lowering pitch. I thought it might be of benefit to put some numbers =
on
potential pitch changes. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Yesterday I did one of these repairs on a late =
model
(1980s) Baldwin Acrosonic console. It had an approximate 1/4-inch =
separation
between the pinblock and the backposts and deadwood back =
assembly. The
separation had been "repaired" in the past with something that =
appeared to be
silicone bathtub adhesive - surprisingly (?) the separation appeared =
to
have widened since the application of the silicone. The piano was =
tuned
at that time (and presumably tuned at standard pitch). </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Prior to my repair the piano was fairly =
uniformly 75
cents flat. I dropped the pitch to between 200 and 250 cents flat =
prior to any
clamping. I yucked in West System epoxy thickened with #403
Microfibers. (A fine fiber blend, is used as a thickening =
additive with
resin/hardener to create a multi-purpose adhesive, especially for =
bonding
wood. Epoxy thickened with microfibers has good gap-filling qualities =
while
retaining excellent wetting/penetrating capability.) I drew the =
gap
closed slowly going back and forth among the six 3/4" pipe clamps (of =
which
two got bent pretty good!). The separation appeared to close very =
close to
100%.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I then checked pitch again. Piano was fairly =
uniformly
about 75 cents flat. Therefore, it appears that closing the 1/4-inch =
gap
resulted in a pitch increase of approximately 150 cents.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I will be going back to the job on Friday =
morning to
install a few through bolts, remove clamps, pitch raise and tune. If =
there is
anyone out there that perhaps has not seen this repair done (or =
whoever for
whatever reason) wants to see a few photos, I will take them Friday =
morning.
Let me know.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Terry =
Farrell</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>