I've had to repair an old upright's bass bridge apron, which separated from both the bridge and the spacer piece screwed/glued to the soundboard. I wanted to remove the spacer, in part to simplify its reattachment to the apron/bridge. After removing the screws through the back of the soundboard and working carefully with water and heat gun (hide glue), the spacer is only barely showing signs of lifting from the board. I would rather not risk breaking it or damaging the board, and wonder if I can just leave well enough alone.
Question - can I leave the spacer in place, and simply use longer screws to re-attach the bridge/apron to it by running them through the spacer, and anchoring into the apron? Seemed the piano maker chose to anchor (with screws) only the spacer piece, ie the screws don't actually grab the apron itself (it was simply glued to the spacer). Is my thought to use longer screws problematic?
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Frederick Hamaker
Rochester NY
585-315-3601
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