<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=windows-1252"> <META content="MSHTML 5.50.4522.1800" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV>Hi Phil. You mention that there is little falseness present. = Repinning the bridge in epoxy and resurfacing/renotching will do three things for you = - it will tend to correct falseness (maybe not important here), add = longevity to a clean sound (perhaps worthwhile here), and make the bridge look like = new (almost always important to the piano owner).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I wish to address a concept I find interesting and have made = my policy regarding rebuilding recommendations. I always address the issue of = whether it makes financial and musical sense to = repair/refurbish/rebuild/remanufacture a piano. I think we all know what the rules are here - 1950s spinets are = rarely worth doing more than an elbow replacement and a regulation - while = Bosendorfers and Mason & Hamlins are almost always worth a complete = remanufacturing effort. Many pianos fall somewhere in between these two extremes.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>But there is another consideration. An owner may decide that THIS = piano is THE piano the WILL stay in this room forever and it will be the ONLY = piano that will ever be in this house (or whereever). Reasons can be many: our old = favorite - sentimental value; the antique piano case goes so well with the = antique furniture; Tiny Tim once played this piano; or I have even heard that = because a prominent church member donated the miserable little spinet to = the church, they will have no other piano to replace it. For what ever = reason, the piano owner has decided that piano X is THE piano. Now the task has = changed - you need to do what you can to make what they have into the piano they = need (obviously, there will be limitations here, but you have gotten around = the issue of "is the piano worth it" - you've got a different set of rules to go by).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>At this point the fun begins because you have stripped away the = investment logic thing. Now you are simply faced with what can be done with this = piano and how much are they willing to spend on a piano. It can make for fun = projects. I have done refurbishings on a couple family heirloom spinets for = $2,000+ - refinish, refurbish action, etc. - make 'em look like new and play as = good as they can - VERY happy customers. My first couple grand "rebuilds" (maybe = major refurbishings would be better term) were much like you are looking at = with your Howard (refurbish bridge, rescale, restring, plug pinblock, refurbish = action, refinish, deliver & watch smiles - collect check & feel smile - = pianos look like a million bucks, sound better than most spinets, and play, = well, er, ah, better than most spinets).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Getting back to this particular case, you may want to feel your = customer out a bit more and see if she is interested in going further with = the piano. If it is older - maybe more than 40 or 50 years, you may = want to consider more action work. If you are contemplating new = hammers, it almost always makes BIG TIME sense to replace shanks, knuckles, and = flanges at the same time (folks like Wally Brooks make this real easy for newbies = like us - personally, someone would have to push me real hard to replace just hammers). Wippens are amazingly durable when only talking = reasonable function.<SPAN id=__#Ath#SignaturePos__></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Anyway, I'll stop rambling now. Just some thoughts. Good luck! Let = us know what goes here Phil.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Terry Farrell</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=tito@PhilBondi.com href="mailto:tito@PhilBondi.com">Phil = Bondi</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, December 14, 2001 = 8:39 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Bridging the = cap</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><STRONG>Terry, Wim, Sir Newton, and Roger:</STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG>Thanks.</STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG>This person wants to put some money into this piano because:</STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG>She loves the size..it fits in her living = room.</STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG>She likes the idea of bringing something back to life.</STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG>She trusts my opinion.</STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG>I told her to do a complete restoration, she's looking at = spending more than what the piano will ever be worth..that got the = ball rolling as far as what to do. Re-capping the bridge was = something that I thought might enhance this little devil. </STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG>Your opinions matter, and I have decided that re-capping = in this case is not necessary. </STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG>I agree that re-surfacing and re-pinning the = bridge(there's very little falseness going on now) is the right approach in this instance.</STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG>Now let's see which 'road' she follows(my recommendations = are based on 'must do', 'should do', and 'could do'). Something tells me = the perennial 'path of least resistance' will be followed.</STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG>Phil</STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG></STRONG> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>