Lexi Cross, Steinway B, Repairing the Soundboard
To recrown the soundboard, gentle heat has to be applied from a light bulb. I take the precaution of protecting the wooden beams with sisalation.
012 20070709 		... and scraping off the old lacquer in the area where the soundboard should shrink.
013 20070709 		With the light providing gentle heating, the existing cracks expand. I use the soundboard shimming chisel from the American Piano Supply Company to shape the cracks to take the shims.
014 20070909 		So many cracks! The result will be spectacular.
015 20070909 		There's a V-shaped shim ready to go in one of these cracks.
016 20070909 		Here I am setting up a piece of antique spruce to be cut into a V-profile.
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018 20070909 		The measuring piece will make the cut 3mm across.
019 20070909 		A couple of cracks filled with shims which have been glued in. The masking tape keeps the glue off the soundboard, making it easier to finish for lacquering.
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... another crack shimmed ...
021 20071009 		... and another ...
022 20071009 		... removing excess wood with a
023 20071009 		Removing the masking tape.
024 20071009 		This repair almost blends in.
025 20071009 		More cracks. It would have been easier to replace the whole soundboard, but Lexi loves old things ...
026 20071009 		The two soundboard repair tools.
027 20071009 		Each shim takes several minutes to shape.
028 20071009 		That one is now glued in ...
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038 20071109 		I've saved the really long ones to the end. They can take up to an hour to shape, and I use the shorter ones for practice. Each soundboard is different, the timber responds differently depending on the angle of the
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149 20072809 		This one was a real challenge. There were multiple cracks in the one place, so a 7mm shim is being prepared here. You can see it beside the top masking tape strip, ready to go be glued in.
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196-19062007 		Just one more shim to go.
197-19062007 		I've reglued the soundboard to the
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