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PDF - Piano Technicians Guild
PDF - Piano Technicians Guild
Editor’s Introduction
Don Galt served as Technical Editor of this publication from 1969 until 1977. One of the many special
things that Don brought to his work as a piano technician and his work with the Journal was his exten-
sive knowledge of iron and steel, gained over many years in his previous life as a re-bar engineer at
Bethlehem Steel. I am reprinting this article in its entirety, and in a sidebar I’ve included a brief question
and answer in which Don replies to a reader’s query on responsibility for plates broken while tuning.
This item appeared in the November, 1970 issue of PTJ, p.10. – SB
T
here is little in the appearance of a piano to Carbide System” and “Testing & Properties,” will probably
reveal the massive forces that its members exert make the greatest demands on the reader’s attention. The
on one another, without respite, through many author hopes that this attention will be rewarded with an
decades of time. It is only when the instrument enlarged understanding of how these materials do their
absorbs the energy of the musician, translates it and throws it work in the piano. If any reader gives up and jumps off
back as sound energy at small or great dynamic levels that during “The Iron-Iron Carbide System,” I hope he or she
the magnitude of these forces is hinted at. will climb back aboard for “Testing & Properties.”
Even so, the dynamism of the pianist and the stolidity of
the piano foster the illusion that the former, rather than the General Considerations
latter, is actually the source of the sound. Pure elemental metallic iron is a rare thing outside of the
So perhaps it is natural that piano users are ignorant of, laboratory and we never encounter it in pianos. The steel
and even piano technicians sometimes take for granted, the music wire and the gray cast-iron plates of pianos, as well as
highly stressed metallic members to which the modern other familiar iron products such as structural steel, wrought
piano largely owes its dynamic compass. iron, white cast iron and so on, are mixtures of iron and
To gain a little sympathetic understanding of these carbon, iron being by far the predominant ingredient. They
members, this paper attempts a short description of the are not chemical compounds, so their proportions and
important iron products used in piano building: their hence their properties can and do vary widely. If the carbon
manufacture, their physical properties, and their reactions to content is less than about two percent by weight, the
the loads they are asked to carry in the piano. material is called steel. If the carbon is more than two
For the reader’s convenience the article is divided into percent it is called cast iron. This two percent figure is not
the following sections: arbitrary, but we will not explore its significance at the
General Considerations moment.These terms illustrate the sort of paradox that can
Pig Iron — The Blast Furnace grow up on a subject when the usage develops gradually.
Gray Cast Iron — The Cupola Steel is defined as a mixture or alloy of iron and carbon, and
Steel — Making the Material yet what is called cast iron contains more carbon than steel
Steel — The Rolling Mill does.
Steel — Wire Drawing In practice, most steels have well less than two percent
The Iron - Iron Carbide System carbon, and most cast irons have well more than that
Testing & Properties amount. Gray cast iron, as used in piano plates, contains
The first five sections of the article, down through about 3.5 percent carbon, structural steel about 0.25
“Steel — The Rolling Mill,” are fairly general, but with percent, tool steels usually one percent or more, piano wire
occasional references to our special interests. about 0.90 percent.The properties of the material depend a
The section on “Steel – Wire Drawing” gives a very great deal on the percentage and form of the carbon
brief description of this procedure, leaving out more than it present.
tells (as does every part of the article).
The last two sections entitled “The Iron — Iron Continued on Next Page
All steels and cast irons also contain other elements and layers of coke, ore and limestone, which form a descending
materials. Some of these, such as sulphur and phosphorus, column. Air is forced in at the bottom, and the coke burns
are residual impurities which generally have been reduced partially to carbon monoxide, which in turn reduces the
in manufacture to the economic minimum. Others, such as iron oxide ore.The limestone forms a molten, fluid slag,
silicon and manganese, may be purposely left in in con- which, floating on the molten iron, accumulates and carries
trolled amounts, or be purposely added, to give the material off much of the waste matter. The blast furnace operates
special qualities. Examples are gray cast iron, containing continuously, with materials charged at the top and the slag
considerable silicon, and the many alloy steels containing and molten pig iron drawn off at the bottom.This is a hot
chromium, nickel, molybdenum and so on. process, with a temperature gradient in the furnace from a
The steel category includes a large spectrum of materi- few hundred degrees at the top to about 2,750 degrees F. at
als, classified by carbon content, as well as by the percentage the bottom.
ranges of other alloying elements. Music wire is generally Pig iron, the blast furnace product, contains fairly large
made from carbon steel, as distinguished from alloy steel, percentages (totaling seven percent or more) of impurities
which means that no deliberate alloy additions are used. such as silicon, manganese, sulphur, phosphorus and an
(Except manganese. Almost all steels, either carbon or alloy, excess of carbon. “Impurities” is a relative term, as some of
contain appreciable amounts of manganese.) these inclusions are impurities only as they are in excess for
Apart from the chemical distinction between steel and the purpose at hand.
cast iron, one of the most important differences is that the
various steels are generally ductile and malleable in varying Gray Cast Iron — The Cupola
degrees, while cast iron generally is not. (The amenability of If the end product is to be gray cast iron, the pig iron from
a material to plastic deformation under stress without the blast furnace is refined in an oxidizing furnace known as
fracture is called ductility or malleability, according as the a cupola. In foundry practice the cupola charge usually
stress is tensile or compressive.) includes cast iron and steel scrap and ferro-silicon, as well as
Wire could not be made from cast iron because the the pig iron. Coke for fuel and limestone for flux are also
manufacturing process and most wire usages demand a included. Because little or no chemical correction is possible
ductile material. On the other hand, piano plates could be in the cupola after melting, the charge must be carefully
made of steel by forging, casting or welding, but among planned as to proportions of entering materials, based on
other disadvantages they would be costly far beyond any the constitution of these materials and the desired constitu-
strength superiority they would have over plates of gray cast tion of the product. A typical melt for piano plates might
iron. contain 3.5 percent carbon and 2.4 percent silicon, about
We will return to some of the other properties and which more will be said later.
reactions of these materials after a short excursion into iron The molten “cast iron” is drawn off and poured into
and steel making. molds, usually of sand, in which it takes the shapes of the
The manufacture of steel divides rather naturally into patterns used in preparing the molds — piano plates, for
two stages: example.
1) making the material and 2) making the product from
the material (product meaning bars, structural shapes, sheets,
wire, etc.).With gray cast iron on the other hand, the Steel — Making the Material
material is generally turned out in product form, as we shall If the end material is to be steel, the pig iron from the blast
see. furnace is refined in one of various types of oxidizing
furnace permitting closer control than the cupola of the
iron foundry. The reader will have heard of the Bessemer
Pig Iron — The Blast Furnace converter and the open-hearth furnace, both long used in
The first step for either steel or cast iron is to recover iron in steel making. The electric furnace, once limited to special
usable form from iron ore, which is iron oxide (rust) in steel manufacture, is now used extensively in the production
varying mixtures with earth, sand and rock. This recovery is of more common grades. Steel music wire may be made of
mostly a process of getting rid of the oxygen by heating the either open hearth or electric furnace steel, never Bessemer.
ore in the presence of carbon and limestone. This takes place (The very fast Bessemer process is not deliberate enough to
in a blast furnace, which is a shaft, typically 25 feet or more allow the analysis and chemical corrections necessary to the
in diameter by 75 feet or more in height, charged with careful manufacture of high carbon steel.)
tensile stress continues to elongate slightly for an indefinite any other means, and to excessively high tension. Remember
time.This elongation is called creep. In most steel uses creep that any tension approaching 70 percent of the breaking strength is
is considered negligible if the temperature is less than 40 dangerously close to the yield strength.
percent of the melting point on the absolute scale, i.e., less A few more words are in order about the properties of
than about 700 degrees F. With piano strings, whose pitch is gray cast iron, which is a more prosaic cousin of piano wire.
so sensitive to a very small change in tension, creep at Its eminent suitability from the standpoint of manufac-
ordinary temperatures is probably a factor in both the quick turing convenience in piano plate work has been mentioned.
loss of pitch in newly strung pianos (so-called primary Its low freezing point (compared with other iron-carbon
creep), and in the long-term loss of
pitch (secondary creep).
Fatigue in metal has been men-
tioned briefly, fatigue strength being the
tolerance of indefinitely repeated cyclic
loads.The high frequency reverse
bending that occurs constantly in a
highly tensioned vibrating string,
particularly at the ends where the
transverse waves are reflected, is surely
high stress cyclic loading, and many
string breaks in playing must be re-
garded as fatigue failures.
Whenever a string is placed in a
piano, it is necessarily cold worked at
several points, such as the bridge pins,
the agraffe, etc. Every non-elastic bend
that is put into the wire tends to harden
the wire by effectively cold working the
steel at that point.The fibers on the
convex side of any plastic bend have
probably been stretched beyond the
yield strength.This point will then be
slightly more brittle than other parts of
the string, and a likely candidate for
ultimate fracture. One such point is the
agraffe. Another is the point of tangency
where the string starts to wind around
the tuning pin. Repeated small tuning
changes subject a short section of the
string to alternate bending and straight-
ening, which, even though slight, tend
to work-harden the steel.This is
probably why so many “old age” string
breaks occur at the tuning pin.
It should be obvious that piano
strings are hard-working elements of
the musical structure of the piano and
we should be careful not to do anything
to make their lot harder. Specifically, we
should avoid subjecting them to
unnecessary plastic bends by kinking or
T
he story I relate here is about an event, or series moving and resetting the plate, then that action may result in
of events, in the life of Marnie Squire, an plate failure.”
Associate member of the Cincinnati, OH, Sandy West, a later piano service manager for Baldwin, elabo-
chapter of PTG. She has been kind enough to rated:
provide the documentation from her case for use in this “It is my considered opinion that a broken plate cannot
issue of the Journal. “If it can help save someone else from be blamed or attributed to a typical tuning/service call. My
the kind of nightmare I went through,” she says, “I’m happy experience is that strings will break before the plate will. A
to share my story.” broken plate is usually the result of some major trauma, such
At about 10:30 a.m. on Friday, July 2, 1993, Marnie as the piano being dropped or the result of a defect in the
Squire arrived to tune a small Fischer grand piano at a home manufacture of the plate. In both such instances the actual
in Middletown, OH.The piano, an Aeolian product, had not crack or break may not show up for quite some time. It will
been tuned in 13 years. Squire played the piano briefly to develop over time as an eventual result of the continued pres-
evaluate its condition and found several keys not playing as sure on the fault by all the strings. Simply tuning the piano
well as some damper problems.The piano was 37 cents flat. would not cause such damage.”
After bringing the piano back to a condition of rough Dr.Albert Sanderson pointed out that Marnie Squire’s pitch-
playability, Squire began the process of raising pitch. Using a raising method had been entirely appropriate, then added:
Sanderson Accu-Tuner™, she completed a “normal” first pass “It has been my observation that plates that break under
and had nearly completed a second pass.Then, “I was about to normal tuning stress have a flaw in the casting that can be
tune the second or third string from the bottom of the bass seen when the break is examined. A flaw could be a bubble
section. I played the keys and a huge ‘bang!’ happened. I had in the casting or a crack that has been growing gradually over
no idea what had happened and was very shaken.” Looking the years owing to metal fatigue.”
over the piano she saw a crack in the second plate strut from Noted piano rebuilder Tony Geers reiterated the now-familiar
the top and another crack in the tuning pin area at the bass/ theme:
tenor break. Mortified, she called the owner of the piano, who “Based on the information we have at hand, most nota-
was at work and explained what had happened. bly the fact that the piano plate broke in both the tuning pin
The piano owner filed a lawsuit over the broken plate. area and treble bar, it would be our conclusion that faulty
The owner enlisted the aid of another piano technician in the installation of the plate during the manufacturing process is
area as an “expert” witness and this technician (whose name is the most likely cause for the breakage. It is impossible for a
omitted here) told the piano owner that Squire had brought tuner to break a plate by tuning alone. There must be other
the pitch up too fast, that she didn’t know what she was doing, circumstances present, i.e., faulty manufacturing, flaw in the
and that she had actually b ro kenthe plate! cast iron, piano dropped, etc.Tuning works against the strength
In September of 1993, Marnie Squire retained an attor- of the cast-iron plate. Over-tuning would cause string break-
ney to defend herself in the lawsuit and the long process of age long before any possible damage to the plate could oc-
gathering evidence began. Several PTG members sprang to cur.
Squire’s aid by examining the piano and writing opinions, “If the plate was improperly installed at the factory, plate
some even performing sophisticated analyses based on the breakage is a very real possibility. Improper installation could
physical evidence. From over two dozen written opinions be the bending of the plate over the pinblock or securing
placed at my disposal by Marnie Squire, I have excerpted a bolts or screws. When tension is added by tuning, extreme
number of relevant quotations. stress is focused on the bent portion of the plate; such as in
Willard Sims, piano service manager at Baldwin from 1946 to the area of the tuning pins and treble bars.”
1984, wrote on September 17, 1993: A letter from prominent piano technician and educator Jim
“The tuning of a piano by an experienced technician Geiger stated:
will not cause the string plate to fail.” In another letter dated “The conclusion is that a normal piano plate, designed
April 10, 1994, Sims reiterated this stance: “I repeat my state- to withstand 40 tons of pressure would not be broken by the
ment that the tuning of a piano will not cause plate failure. If tension from the piano strings regardless of the applied ten-
a rebuilder refurbished and perhaps rescaled the piano, re- sion, how fast the tension is applied and at what point of the
Background
W
hen Steve Brady called and asked me if I would surprised that that section of the capo bar had not broken
contribute an article about broken piano plates when the piano was first chipped at the factory. I was later
(to replace an article promised by someone else, told that some of them did.
but which had never actually materialized), his deadline was The following is the analysis that I presented to the
just five days away and I was leaving on a trip in three days. tuner-technician’s attorney and I was well aware that I
When I returned it would be too late. Because of the time might be called upon to present it in court later on. Fortu-
constraint Steve and I decided that I should just use an nately for everyone the suit was withdrawn the day before
analysis that I did back in May, 1994 for the Journal article. the hearing.This was such a no-winner! The design of the
The piano was a 1973 J&C Fischer that had been piano was, in my opinion, just asking for trouble.
neglected for several years and allowed to go 37 cents flat. The original analysis included four figures, which are
The scale design had only three major divisions, no agraffes, included here, and eight photographs — primarily for the
and the forward termination for the strings was a long education of the attorney — that do not appear here
curved capo bar that ran all the way from #1 in the bass to because they are no longer available.
#88 in the treble.The middle section spanned 32 triple-
string unisons without any additional support and the Tuning Procedure Used by Mrs. Squire
bearing angle of the strings against the bar was excessive. Mrs. Squire and I discussed the procedure she had used to
The dimensional cross section of the bar was minimal, and tune the piano just before the plate broke. The piano had
there were no shoulder (nose) bolts to secure the plate struts been neglected and not tuned for more than a decade. Mrs.
to any beams underneath. Immediately after the tuner- Squire measured its pitch and found it to be about 37 cents
technician brought the piano up to standard pitch and flat. In tonal nomenclature, a “cent” is 1/100 part of a
began to check the tuning, the middle section of the capo semitone; a “semitone” is 1/12 part of an octave; and an
bar broke. octave represents a ratio of 2:1 in frequency, or pitch. In
Another technician claimed that the plate broke going up the musical scale, each of the 12 semitones in an
because the tuner brought the piano back up to standard octave increases by the 12th root of 2, or 1.059463094
pitch in one tuning rather than in several small increments above the one below it.Therefore, being “37 cents flat”
spread out over a period of days, weeks or months.The means that the frequency (pitch) of the notes on the piano
owner filed a lawsuit against the tuner for an amount that, in was about 98 percent of what it should have been at stan-
my opinion, was far in excess of the actual worth of the dard pitch (A=440Hz).
piano. I was asked to be an “expert witness” for the tuner. When a piano is flat (low in pitch) by this much,
Although the piano was located in the Cincinnati area some current procedure calls for raising the pitch of each string
260 miles from where I live, I agreed to do it for net very, very slightly above its normal frequency so that when
expenses only. The intentions of the piano owner may have it settles after tuning it will be at, or very near, the desired
been perfectly honest, but his/her decision to sue was based pitch. It is well within the limits of good tuning practice to
upon an erroneous conclusion by another technician and raise the pitch of a piano by 37 cents at one time. Obviously,
the result could have set a precedent that would have been the tuner then repeats the tuning in order to obtain a finer
absolutely wrong! tuning, since the piano will always settle back some.This
After taking a good look at this particular piano I was procedure is accepted and recommended throughout the
Figure 1
When a bar is bent, the material in the inner part of the Photos 5 and 6, taken at slightly different angles, are
bend is compressed, but that of the outer part of the curve is close-ups of the break at the right-hand end of the bar.
under tension and is elongated. Cast iron will not withstand Photo 7 shows the cracked plate at the left-hand end of
great bending forces because of its low tensile strength. the bar.
The tendency of a piano plate to bow upward in the Photos 5-6-7 clearly show that no agraffes are present.
middle is normally restrained by anchoring it to massive Instead, the treble capo bar has been extended all the way
wooden beams under the soundboard using shoulder bolts through the piano to act as a common forward termination
that extend through the soundboard.There are other
shoulder bolts in this piano, but they are not visible in the
photo.The outer perimeter of the plate is bolted to a very
rigid rim made of laminated hardwood to hold the plate
perfectly flat, and not allow it to bend under the tension of
all the strings. By anchoring the plate in this way, the only
major forces acting on it are compressive, not tensile.
The plate flange at the front of the piano, the bar that
extends across the width of the piano, and the bars that
connect A-B and C-D together, all form a very rigid
structure. Another part of the casting extends downward
from point X and attaches to a massive “cross-beam” that Pinblock
traverses across the width of the piano below the Figure 2
soundboard. The point where several of the plate bars
converge, is one of the regions of highest stress concentra-
tion in a grand piano.The part of the casting that ties this for all the strings.This appears to have been a cost-cutting
part of the plate to the cross-beam (sometimes referred to as measure by the manufacturer. Photos 5 and 6 show that the
the “horn” because of its shape), greatly improves the bar jumped upward and toward the rear of the piano when
strength and stability of the plate by securing it (out in the it broke. Judging from my first-hand observation of the
span across the piano) to the massive structure under the piano on May 2, 1994, and from the photographs I made,
piano. the angle of rise of the strings as they came forward from
Photo 2 is a close-up of the tuning-pin area of the under the bar must have been at least 30 to 35 degrees
piano shown in Photo 1. It clearly shows how the strings in before the bar broke. I consider this much bearing angle to
a grand piano extend through the agraffes, which form the be excessive. An angle of 16 to 18 degrees would have been
forward termination of the speaking lengths of the strings. more appropriate (See Figure 2).
Agraffes are made of machined brass, with threaded studs at Photo 8 is a view looking inside the action compart-
the bottom, which are screwed into threaded holes in the ment of the piano, with the keys and action removed. The
plate. In this division of the piano, they have three eyelets, sostenuto rod is in the lower foreground, and the damper
one for each of the three strings in each unison (note). flanges and wires are behind it. The bottoms of the dampers
Making and installing agraffes is time-consuming and costly can be seen above the wires. The “belly rail” (to which the
because it is detailed work. Nevertheless, this is the preferred front edge of the soundboard is glued) lies behind the
way to terminate the strings of a grand piano, except for the damper wires.The cross-beam is just under the belly rail.
high treble divisions, where a capo bar is usually used. The open space between the damper wires (middle of the
photo) under the cross-over between the bass and tenor
Construction of the Plate That Failed strings is where the “horn” (described earlier) would be, if
Photo 3 is a picture of the inside of the Fischer piano with there were one, but there is not. Neither are there any
the broken plate.The bar (H-J) in the foreground is broken shoulder bolts to secure the plate bars or string plate to a
at point J, and protrudes upward and slightly to the rear of massive under-structure.
the piano. The pinblock is the laminated hardwood plank that
Photo 4 is a closer view of the broken bar (H—J). A securely holds the tuning pins. It is normally fitted to, and
total of 30 three-string unisons can be seen in this division rests against, a flange on the under-side of the plate, behind
of the piano. the tuning pins, so that the pinblock cannot move under the
tension of the strings. In this Fischer piano, a wide gap exists strings in the piano. The length of line (O-G) represents the
between the pinblock and the plate flange, a condition that total tension in the speaking length of the strings. The
is considered poor construction by most piano builders and length of lines (O—A) and (O-B) represent the total
rebuilders. tension in the short lengths of the strings between the capo
bar and the plate bearing surface for the estimated bearing
Scenario of the Break angles of 30 and 35 degrees respectively.
There are 30 unisons (notes) in this middle division of the The original scale design of this piano is not available to
piano. Each unison has three strings. We may assume that me, therefore I am constrained to estimate what the total
the total tension of all the strings in this piano, when tuned tension of the piano, and of the strings in this division
to standard pitch, would be somewhere between 35,000 and would be. I believe that it is reasonable to assume an average
38,000 pounds, and that the average tension of each string tension of 155 lbs. for the strings in this division, as stated
in this division would be about 155 pounds. As I indicated above. The total string tension in this division would then
earlier in this report, I believe the bearing angle of the be 3 X 30 X 155 = 13950 pounds. I am also constrained to
strings at the capo bar was at least 30 degrees, and perhaps as assume that the tensions of the strings were all equalized
much as 35 degrees before the bar broke. It is impossible across the capo bar.The graphic analysis assumes this.
now to measure the angle, because the bar is broken, but if I However, because of the excessive bearing angle at the capo
imagine that it is intact in the right place, that is the ap- bar and therefore excessive friction, this may not be the case,
proximate number that I get. which would make the situation actually worse than what I
Therefore: have shown.
Tension of each string (pounds) = 155 If the string bearing-angle across the capo bar were only
Number of unisons in this division = 30 30 degrees, line (O-A) would represent that vector. Com-
Number of strings per unison =3 pleting the parallelogram (lines A-F and F-G), gives the
Estimated string bearing angle under capo = 30 resultant force represented by line (O-F), and indicates that
degrees minimum, 35 degrees maximum. the force was 7300 pounds upward at an angle of 15 degrees
Figure 3 is a vector analysis of the combined force of all toward the rear of the piano. This breaks down into compo-
the strings against the capo bar that broke. The force vectors nent forces of 7000 pounds straight up and 2000 lbs. toward
are taken from the origin (O), which represents the point of the rear. If, on the other hand, the bearing angle had been
contact of the strings against the capo bar in this division of 35 degrees, then the resultant would have been 8450
the piano. The horizontal axis represents the plane of the Continued on Next Page
Conclusion
In my opinion the plate in this piano
broke as a result of inferior and faulty
design. It would have broken, no
matter who tuned the piano. Fortu-
nately, piano plates rarely break, but
when one does, it is not uncommon
for it to do so some years after the
piano was built, and the cause is almost
always a fault of some sort in the plate.
Stress fatigue in metal does occur with
the passage of time, and microscopic
cracks do grow until the part finally
fails. In my opinion Marnie Squire was
not at fault in any way, and to con-
clude that the plate in this piano broke
because of any negligence or improper
technique on her part would be
utterly absurd.
A
broken plate can be welded if one wants to go and keybed. It will have pulled a nearby nosebolt out of its
to all the work. First, one must determine how supporting post — stripping the threads.
much the plate has warped or changed shape. It I use a jig to pull vertical plates back into their original
makes no sense to weld the plate in its broken shape. (See Figure 1) After releasing string tension and
configuration.That’s like tuning a low-pitched piano removing the strings in the break area I drill a 3/4" hole
“where it’s at.” The problem with welding a plate “where through the soundboard. Then I insert a long 3/4" continu-
it’s at” is that forevermore the piano will be in that same ous-threaded bolt
shape — the shape of “where it’s at.” through the hole and
In grands, the most common break results in the plate through blocks placed in
and pinblock dropping a few millimeters. Sometimes the the front and back of the
pinblock will make contact with the action. Removing the piano, and begin pulling
action when this has happened can be a real challenge, but the plate back to where
with persistence it can be done. Loosening the strings is a it belongs. The correct
must. position is determined
by checking the
Preliminaries downbearing of a string
To begin the repair, unhook the strings from their hitch pins laid across the bridge and
in the area to be worked on (about two octaves). Tie them fastened to its hitch pin.
to one side. This is required before grinding, drilling and In some cases it may not
welding begins. Once the action is removed, a small hydrau- be possible to bring the
lic jack can be used to raise the plate back to its original plate back that last one
position. or two millimeters
In vertical pianos, the most common break occurs mid- without danger of
section just behind the keybed. The plate will likely have breaking the plate in a View showing the completed weld and how the straps
moved forward to where it has lodged against the action different place. But don’t were placed across the break.
throw the piano away,
even if you are unable to achieve positive downbearing.
After all,Vladimir Horowitz’s Steinway had negative
downbearing during his later years of concertizing.
Just try closing the gap in the crack as much as possible.
One will find that a lot of force is required to move the
plate even a small amount. As the plate moves closer to
position, the nut on the jig will get so tight that it nearly
strips the threads of the 3/4" bolt, so don’t try using a
smaller bolt.
the outer rim was holding it together – good enough for I smooth off the burrs and bumps with a grinder. In a
making stew, we decided. grand, where the break is exposed to view, I finish the job
A special welding rod is used for doing cast iron. It with Bondo in the fashion of doing an auto body repair.
contains mostly nickel and is not cheap. I can circle my Feathering off the outer edges, sanding, then spraying with
fingers around a $200 bundle. The reason nickel is good is gold paint, completes the job to where one would not be
because of its flowing characteristics. It also shrinks less and aware of any repair. In a vertical piano, I may omit the
is more ductile than iron, and bonds well. Bondo application and simply end the repair by smoothing
the weld with a grinder then spray painting.
Success Rate
This technique has worked for me for more than 40 years.
In all this time, I have never had a single call telling me that
the repair failed. I have seen welds by other people fail and I
have learned from their mistakes. I allow three working days
to do a welding job and charge according to the amount of
time taken away from my regular tuning appointments. To
do the job right requires moving a pickup-load of equip-
ment to the job site.
Photo 1 Photo 3
Sometimes an experience will confirm what decided I had to at least see this piano myself.
we already know: that a properly designed When I arrived at the client’s home, the piano was
and installed piano plate is a lot stronger than indeed just as described (See Photo 1). My examina-
it needs to be. tion revealed no cracks or fractures, the plate resting
securely on the spacers, (See Photos 2 & 3) and the
I received a call from the owner of a 1906 Starr 5’4" pitch 50 cents flat. Imagine my astonishment when my
grand (#64759). She said that in 1995 she removed all new client added that the piano had been moved three
the plate screws and nosebolt nuts in the sincere but times since the fasteners were lost in 1995.
mistaken belief that she could lift out the “harp” to Somehow this piano’s plate had survived having all
clean the soundboard. She gave up trying to lift the 14 plate screws and seven nose bolt nuts removed while
plate and eventually all the fasteners were lost. Now, under tension and then tipped and moved three times
five years later, she called me to ask if I could replace over a five-year period. This piano’s history was as
unbelievable as it was unprecedented. By now the
owner was aware she had “made a terrible mistake”
and readily agreed to sign a statement I drew up which
states that “...the plate may crack or break at any time.”
Then I measured the diameter and depth of each plate
screw hole and the diameters and thread counts of the
nose bolts and also took a few photographs.
My next step was to consult my colleagues for
advice and locate replacement fasteners. I described
this piano on the PTG Archives message board and
received an informative and encouraging e-mail from
Del Fandrich. The members of my PTG Chapter were
amazed and amused at the unprecedented nature of
this project and encouraged me to pursue it. One of
our senior chapter members wisely saves old plate
screws and I was able to procure the correct sizes from
his collection. The nosebolt nuts were another matter.
The nut size needed was 5/16" by 20 threads per
Photo 1 inch. My search for that particular thread count was
fruitless; hardware stores have sizes that are 5/16" by 18
the fasteners and tune the piano. She said that another or 24, but not 20. I could not even find that size in the
piano technician “almost fainted” when he saw the catalogs. Fortunately, the owner of the piano works
unsecured plate and, after lecturing her, refused to with an engineer who had the correct size tap and he
undertake the task of replacing the fasteners. I also created the nosebolt nuts for her.
wasn’t sure if I wanted to undertake this project, but Thus I re-approached this piano armed with