I couldn't let this thread go without just one more story about
a piano plate possibly blowing up during a tuning.  The piano was an
old player that had seen its day.  When I opened the lid to tune it
I couldn't help but notice that the plate looked like an "S" from the
bass up to the treble.

I removed the board covering the pinblock found that it had separated
so much [from the back posts] that I could put a pencil in it.  I told
the owner that in order to do the repair the string tension had to be
let down and then the necessary repairs could be made.  He announced
that he was a woodworker and could do the job himself.

When I returned to tune the piano I was amazed at the beautiful job
that had been done.  A 1/4-inch-thick metal plate had been put on the
back and six large bolts were going through the pinblock.  Two strings
had broken, thus there was minimal damage.

When I started to tune the piano all of the pins were way too loose;
I couldn't tune it.  He stated that the pins were so tight he couldn't
loosen them and that he had sprayed WD-40 on all of them.  He had
a friend that was a violin maker who had assisted him with the job.
The friend just looked at him and said "You didn't?"  I haven't heard
from him since.

Okay, one more story.  I went to tune the piano at Sea World in San
Diego.  It was a new acquisition by the general manager.  It had a
separating pinblock.  I pointed it out to the woman that had hired me
and then left without tuning it.  They then hired someone else who did
tune it.

The next year they hired me again.  They wanted to talk about fixing
the piano.  When I returned I could put my hand down the crack.  But
the plate never did break -- they never fixed it but they did fire the
woman that hired me.  The last time I saw the piano was in their
storage facility.  It's probably still there.

Wayne and I have repaired probably three dozen cases that could have
ended with blown plates.  Two of them were in "new" Universal players.
I did check the three Gulbransens in my shop and no loose screws were
to be found.

Diane DeTar
La Mesa, California