Baldwin F Strung

Yesterday I completed the belly work on the Baldwin by installing the strings. Next, dampers have to be installed, and lots of action work.

Plate Suspenstion

Before the plate can be installed, the suspension dowels must be reinstalled. The Mason and Hamlin originally had one lag bolt per plate screw as suspension dowels. This is a rather undignified means of suspending the plate for a prestigious piano. So i changed to a standard two dowel per screw system.

I drill holes through the soundboard into the rim about 3/4" deep. These holes are roughly 1" on either side of the plate screw hole. I use a compressible indexing dowel to determine the length of the dowels to be installed. The indexing dowels are extended longer than the future dowel, and then the plate is installed on top. The weight of the plate compresses the indexing dowels to their proper height. The indexing dowels are then measured, and the permanent dowel length is matched. Glue is applied to the holes, the dowels are installed, and the plate is installed on top of the new dowels.

Baldwin F Pinblock Drilled

I use my drill press for drilling most pinblocks. I built a cross sliding table that mounts to my drill press table. It moves both side to side and front to back. I use a chiller to keep the drill bit cool while drilling the very hard wood in the pinclock. The pinblock is marked when mounted to the plate to locate the pin hole locations.

If the plate has tuning bushings I drill the block through the plate. That's a discussion for another time

Soundboard Tops Finished

After the new board is glued into the piano, it is ready to be finished. The overhang at the front edge of the stretcher is planed flush and sanded. Also, any trim pieces must be reglued and soundboard decals applied. The the piano and bridges are masked, and lacquer is sprayed to complete the finish.

Soundboards Glued In Pianos

Both soundboards have been glued into the pianos. This is done after the bridges are attached and bottom side of the board is finished. This is accomplished with liquid hide glue and lots of clamps. After I complete this task, I nearly always sit down, and just reflect on all the work that has been done to get us to this place.

Board Bottoms Finished

After the bridges have been glued and doweled to the new board, the bottom side can be finished. The first operation is to cot the dowels flush with the rib top. Then a radius is cut on the top of the rib using a special hand plane. Following a lot of hand sanding, the edge gluing surfaces are masked and finish is applied. This completes the bottom side, and the board is ready to be installed in the piano. The top will be finished later.

Bridges Glued To Soundboard

My soundboard press serves two purposes. It is not only a soundboard press, but also a bridge press. Many rebuilders have a separate fixture for gluing bridges, but in my small shop, space is a major issue, so if I can use one fixture for two purposes, I am happy.

I use liquid hide glue for mounting the bridges. It has a long open time (15-20 minutes), and is easily reversible in case the bridge needs to be removed at a later date. I also think hide glue has a very good sound transmission quality, although that is hard to quantify.

A heavy coat of glue is applied to the bridge body only. The bridge is placed on the new board using the locater pins to position it. Several screws are used to hold the bridges in place, and then the board is turned upside down on the bench. Now I use temporary screws in the holes where dowels will later be installed, through the rib and into the bridge. Finally the board is placed on the press, and the area between the ribs are clamped in place with air pressure.

After the board has been in the press for 5-6 hours, the screws in the ribs are removed, and dowels are installed.