<!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=530200823-25072003>Help!!!</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face="Courier New" size=2><SPAN
class=530200823-25072003> I took some string measurements =
today from
the Baldwin M grand I am going to replace the bass strings in, and =
YIKES, I
found the bass bridge cracked and broken at the third string. What =
bothers me is
that the 3 inch section was floating about 1/8 inch off the sound board. =
Shouldn't the down bearing keep it down???? I have never repaired a =
bridge
before, so I could use any coaxing I can get. I took the bottom three =
strings
off so I could put the broken part back into it's normal position in =
order to
make the string measurement. I imagine I should use an epoxy glue to =
repair
this, right, or can I use thick CA??? It's a very clean break and the =
pieces can
be put back together and one can hardly tell it's broken. Please advise. =
Thanks.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face="Courier New" size=2><SPAN
class=530200823-25072003></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face="Courier New" size=2><SPAN
class=530200823-25072003>Richard Strang</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face="Courier New" size=2><SPAN
class=530200823-25072003>Panama</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>Delwin D
Fandrich<BR><B>Sent:</B> Friday, July 25, 2003 4:34 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
Pianotech<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: Bridge =
attachment<BR><BR></DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080 face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:BobDavis88@aol.com"
title=BobDavis88@aol.com>BobDavis88@aol.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org"
title=pianotech@ptg.org>pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> July 25, 2003 1:40 =
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Bridge =
attachment</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Arial lang=0 =
size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF">There are obviously several ways to clamp a =
bridge to a
new soundboard while gluing - pneumatic press, go-bars, screws with =
their
holes later filled with dowels. <BR><BR>Suppose one is using screws. =
I have
heard several people say they don't like to drill through ribs. The =
old
Steinways had a combination of screws through every rib which were =
then
dowelled, large dowels up into the areas between the feet of a =
footed
bridge, and screws through soundboard buttons in the high treble =
which were
just left in place. Is there a better way, if one is using screws? =
It seems
like drilling through ribs weaken the ribs, a hardwood dowel through =
a thin
softwood soundboard between the ribs could break free later and =
buzz, and a
screw left in place through a soundboard button could loosen and =
buzz,
especially since many are =
inaccessible.</FONT></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080 face="Comic Sans MS">Drilling through the =
rib does
weaken it. This is not a problem if the soundboard is =
compression-crowned. In
this case the rib is not supporting crown, but resisting it. It needs =
to be
some flexible. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080 face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080 face="Comic Sans MS">In the case of a =
rib-crowned
soundboard system the rib is a structural member. It is not a good =
idea to do
anything that would weaken the rib right at the point where you are =
putting
the most stress on it--directly under the bridge. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080 face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080 face="Comic Sans MS">Most of those who =
use screws and
buttons to attach bridges put them in between the ribs, not through =
them.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080 face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080 face="Comic Sans MS">It is true that a =
screw left in
a soundboard could cause a buzz sometime down the road. But then so =
will a
loose rib. Perhaps we should leave the ribs off as well. Seriously, =
enough
screws have been left in enough soundboards over the past 150 plus =
years that
if this were going to develop into a severe problem it probably would =
have
done so by now.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080 face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000080
face="Comic Sans MS">Del</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>