After the new caps are planed to the desired height, I reinstall the patterns made from the original caps, and mark every pin hole with a pencil mark. I then reinstall the dryfitted bridge and soundboard into the piano, and place the plate in place. This allows me to be sure that I am satisfied with my down bearing and to check the bridge pin locations.
With the bridge back on the bench, I make any adjustments to the pin locations that I feel necessary. A triple pinned punch is used to center punch the pin locations. When all of the holes have been located, I black and lubricate the bridge top. For drilling the pin hole, most technicians choose to do this operation by hand, as the hole must be drilled at a compound angle. I have devised a method of drilling on my drill press, which allows for a more controlled boring.
Notching is probably the most physical job of rebuilding. Chiseling notches in rock had maple take a lot of force. My shoulder still aches several days after completing this job. It is also a rather tedious job, as it is important to evenly split the bridge pin hole in half with the chisel as the trough is formed. Eighty eight notes, two sides to the bridge equals 196 notches.
The final operation is to install the new bridge pins. The pins are filed flat on top as the final step of the process. Now- get ready to permanently glue the bridges to the mew board.
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