Grand piano soundboard crack repair

Every now and then i get steinway grands core pianos that have or get muliple multiple hairline cracks especially coming from east to west. The sounding boards function is to truly reflect and amplify that tone. I going to try to fix a crack in the soundboard of my chickering while i have the strings off. If the crack is small and doesnt buzz, theres no need to fix it. A new soundboard is custom tapered and fitted into the specific piano. At bradfield piano, our experienced technicians apply advanced repair techniques to mend soundboard cracks and restore the. Piano repair piano defects and damaged fixed during piano. So youve noticed the soundboard of your piano has a crack. Each and every piano cabinet is unique and different. This usually will eliminate the offending noise when the piano is played.

The soundboard must be replaced periodically during what is proving to be the life of the modern grand piano, and. For example, if a baby grand piano is 5 feet long, at least 12 inches of that length is going to be the keyboard before the strings and soundboard begin. In grand pianos, this condition is a little more serious mainly. Luckily, an excellent solution came about several years ago which is just now beginning to become standard in piano restoration. Check for thin hairline cracks along the grain of the soundboard, and examine each area where a crack crosses under one of the supporting ribs which run across the grain.

When choosing whether to repair or replace your soundboard, its important to. Used pianos will develop cracks after prolonged dry conditions. It can crack if not kept at consistent humidity levels. Piano repair costs will be one to several thousands of dollars for the changing of strings alone, if necessary. The case against repairing piano soundboard cracks part 1. The more constant you can keep the humidity, the more stable you can keep your piano. This is an example of a significant crack in the soundboard of a small baby grand piano. In short, the climate in turkey is not kind to soundboards for the long term exposure pianos typically take. It is more a repair for a piano that is incredibly special or expensive, such as a concert grand steinway or bosendorfer that has a soundboard in really bad shape but is still worth restoring.

Any separation of a rib from the soundboard at a crack is a potential source of buzzing noises. Notice the careless use of oversized screws in an attempt to stop buzzing from ribs that detached from the panel of the soundboard. The sounding board is the most important single part in the piano because if the board is bad, you do not have a piano until there has been a major repair job. Piano tuning, repair, and related services offered by kens pianos throughout the houston, tx metro area and surrounding counties. After that they filled the cracks, and put the soundboard back to convex shape. Cracks in the soundboard are common in older pianos and can cause buzzing, loss of volume, and poor sustain. If the cracks have been filled with wooden shims, this means that, at some point, the piano was rebuilt and the cracks repaired. I am asked often about soundboard cracks, and often by people that have heard its a death sentence for the piano, or that it means the piano cant be tuned.

When all the strings are at their proper tension, tuned to a440, a concert grand piano holds about 18 tons 9 mid size cars on a string of pressure. When the soundboard looses a lot of moisture or absorbs and. The ribs run perpendicular to the grain of the soundboard, and therefore perpendicular to any cracks. Rates and answers to piano service, tuning, repair. I have a customer with a yamaha g2 grand about 30 years old. Even in this case, a quick and easy repair may be done using little.

Piano tuning and repair how to fix a soundboard crack on a grand piano. All who heard the piano gave kind comments on the sound, so it worked. Nominally, if the piano is worth it the scant information above, i would judge no, you remove the plate, widen the crack to a vshape, insert and glue a vshaped spruce strip and scrape not sand the repair level. While soundboard cracks are obviously undesirable, and in some cases can cause. Other structural repairs, or repairs to the soundboard, will be expensive and will certainly need to be performed by a professional as it should be with most repairs. A family friend has had one stored in his shop for about 4 years untouched and decided to ask. Piano technician bryce mckay recently fixed a crack in the soundboard of a grand piano we are restoring. Im wondering as for opinions as for the most efficient way to seal these hai. There are a very few belly men technicians specializing in soundboard repair who do excellent work replacing soundboards. A piano with a cracked soundboard should be carefully checked for rib separations before purchase.

If the crack is small, but wide, it can be cleaned and a soundboard shim can be installed fairly simply. One method for repairing cracks in a soundboard requires inserting a shim of wood into the cracked. The piano arrived at our shop with a crack in the cast iron plate. Piano owners survival guide piano parts catalogue catalog. On some grand pianos, the number is stamped in the soundboard. Graymarket pianos and cracked soundboards pianobuyer. For over 10 years living pianos has been offering a wide selection of toptier new and used pianos for sale. In most of these pianos, the piano cabinet would literally have to be sawed apart in order to get the pinblock out. The sides of the crack are touching or almost touching, but are displaced vertically about an eight of an inch. I am asked often about soundboard cracks, and often by people that have heard its a death sentence for the piano, or that it means the piano.

New pianos, because of new wood, will crack much sooner, sometimes even within a week after being exposed to very dry conditions. We are not here to reinvent the wheel, or secondguess steinways piano building processes. Piano repair piano defects and damaged fixed during. Welcome to estey piano piano rebuilding services piano. There is even a machine bolt and nut through one of the ribs. Once you get to the point where strings need to be removed, the labor charges go up. Sawing the cabinet to remove the pinblock in a square grand piano is a bit of an extreme measure.

In a grand piano, crawl underneath and look up to see it, but make sure the pianos legs look sturdy before you do so. Yet when the crack deepens and the soundboard has more extensive damage, the only way the sound can be preserved is to remove the soundboard from the piano and replace it with one that closely mimics the original construction. The case against repairing piano soundboard cracks part 1 duration. Piano care and repair table of contents, repair, restore, and tune your piano. On the back of it, it has one inch ribs which stabilize it by running against the grain of the sound board. A piano restoration expert can usually make the repair quickly with effective results. Meanwhile the customer is out the money and the soundboard is still compromised. It is not advisable to restore your piano by yourself if it is a valuable antique. Antique square grand piano restoration shaffer pianos. Piano soundboard restoration is an exacting and timed honed process. If you crack open the lid of either your grand or upright piano and look down, you will see a shiny piece of wood behind the iron plate that runs the entire area of the bottom or back of the instrument. Later on you will see it from the other side as well.

With proper maintenance and tuning, even a soundboard with cracks can be maintained for years. Piano store new and used pianos for sale living pianos. Nearly all piano soundboards are made of thin planks of spruce glued together. Soundboard repair oxford piano service piano tuning. He used a router to cut out the length of the crack before. It should be remembered, however, that it is the strings, and not the soundboard, that originate, by their vibratory motions after they have been struck, the sound which the soundboard amplifies. How to fix a soundboard crack on a grand piano brigham.

Whether you have a grand piano or an upright piano, fixing cracks is one of the most common soundboard repairs. Kurt weissman of grand purpose piano is restoring this steinway m and in the. Most pianos on the east coast have cracked soundboards. Almost always we do new soundboard,bridges and ribs etc. Strings also stress the pinblock which has to be replaced when it wont stay in tune. A soundboard of a grand piano has a vast amount of pressure exerted on it.

Recently i did what i called a makeover to what was apparently a horrible chinese grand from 2005, a stencil piano from the dongbei factory with a. A large, fullsize upright piano has longer strings and a larger soundboard than a baby grand piano. He used a router to cut out the length of the crack before filling it in. I placed electrical tape on the surface of the board on the crack and flipped the piano upside down. The most important aspect of soundboard repair is to be certain that the board is glued solid to the ribs. I applied the epoxy from the bottom and let it cure. The only thing that i am bothered by are the 3 or 4 cracks in the soundboard. The significance of soundboard cracks on pianos youtube. Unless you hear strange noises, you might not need to repair a cracked soundboard. Smaller cracks may not impact your pianos sound enough to warrant repair. When an original soundboard needs restoration, we evaluate the board to ensure structural integrity, hand sand it and repair any damage utilizing our special methods. Piano manufacturing pinblock replacement soundboard replacement bridgecapping soundboard pluggingcrack repair complete restoration finish touch up polyester finish repair refinishing fire damage repair water damage repair.

They can provide insight on how to best preserve your piano s sound and give pricing for a soundboard repair or replacement. Steinway does not sell or provide soundboards because each one must be custom fit to the exact dimensions of the piano cabinet. Epoxy soundboard crack repair pianotech piano technicians guild. A qualified piano repair or restoration can make these pianos what they were. With an inventory of classic american and european pianos as well as late model and new asian pianos, living pianos has the piano youre looking for. During restauration, they dried the piano down to 20 percent humidity, so that even some more cracks occured during that. The sound board is a five eighths inch thick wooden board in the back of the piano. When a new board is installed, it is as the original was. The crack in the soundboard is actually the least of the problems in repair, and is more cosmetic than anything. A cracked pinblock can be replaced, and a cracked soundboard can certainly be repaired or replaced. Order piano parts and tools from our catalogue catalog. These pictures illustrate a horrifying soundboard repair performed on a. In this case, consult with a professional piano technician. Lindeblad mastercraftsmen have the time and experience to custom shape each soundboard to the manufacturers specifications, tapering it from the crown to the rim.

Piano services tuning, repairs, regulation, restoration. If the crack is loose on the ribs, it may buzz, but there is a repair for this as well. Strings, tuning pins, pinblock, soundboard and bridges the belly is what makes a piano heavy. Unless you have repaired a cracked soundboard before, we recommend contacting a professional. Many piano rebuilders today still think that such cracks cannot be repaired and thus the piano is worthless. Piano soundboard steinway piano parts chupps piano. Thus, the soundboard of the piano acts just as does the parchment head of a drum or the thin steel diaphragm of the receiver element in a telephone. Restoring a piano is laborintensive, but you can do it yourself with a few tools and furniture restoration supplies.

Many vintage steinway and sons grand pianos and upright pianos exhibit cracking and. Nashville piano rescue is full service and does make house calls on basic repairs, we also do piano cleaning, key top replacement, brass polishing, string replacement and full. An rpt must be able to perform specialized maintenance and repair of a piano such as voicing, string repair, and regulation. These pictures illustrate a horrifying soundboard repair performed on a vintage german steinway and sons model o grand piano. If so, the crack may have split the soundboard into different pieces.

The significance of soundboard cracks on pianos duration. If the new soundboard that is to be installed, is duplicated to the exact standards of the original soundboard being removed, then the piano will sound as it did when it was new. Because the pianos soundboard is made of thin sheets of wood, it is one of the most vulnerable parts of the piano. Piano tuning and repair archives brigham larson pianos. If splits in the soundboard do produce certain rattling or vibrating sounds, it is enough to place a wedge in the crack, otherwise, one must send the piano to a factory or repair shop to have the sound board replaced or properly repaired. As long as the edges of the crack do not make a rattling sound by vibrating, it really isnt that problematic. Filling the crack with material that doesnt expand and contract like wood will generate a new crack right along side the repair. A basic repair for this in an upright piano is to insert glue between the soundboard and the ribs closest to the crack and draw the soundboard back to the ribs either by screws or by some other method. I have wanted a grand piano for as long as i can remember.