<!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 5.50.4807.2300" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    Hi = Gang:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    Two weeks ago, I = duplicated a bridge for a local tech from a 10 year old Baldwin console which = had split in the usual manner.  After installation and attempting to pull the = bass strings up to pitch, the new bridge split again down the pin line on the = speaking length side of the bridge.  Will now have to make another, = but don't want to have the same result.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    A few points:  = Hard rock maple was used, the dimensions, pin size and positioning were all = closely duplicated, and finished with DAG along the top.  Grain orientation = was followed according to PTG information.  The new bridge failed = the same way as the original one.  We did not measure downbearing, felt = there was no need.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    We are looking at = some possibilities:  1.  I used the entire length of the new pin = into the wood, did it weaken the bridge along its length?  Did the pins = drive in too tightly starting the split?   Was there a flaw in the wood?  I havn't seen it yet, so will examine.  Should I use = smaller diameter pins next time?  Should they be angled more toward the = center (each other) at the bottom of the bridge?  Was there a design flaw = in the original bridge we are repeating?  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    Any ideas?  = HELP !  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    Mike Kurta</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>