Pianotech

Greetings fellow technicians

I inspected a 1988 Schimmel yesterday, a 6' 10" grand.  A store is considering buying it or putting it on consignment.  I found a crack in the plate as shown in the photos.  In the first photo the crack is pretty obvious, along the corner of the strut.  In the second photo it's harder to see – it runs along the length of the "molding" and then becomes a hairline crack along the strut in the background of the photo.  This is in the 3^rd section.  I cut a little strip out of a business card and was able to insert it 3 mm into where it looked like the crack was deepest, so I would guess that the crack is likely 4-5 mm there.  I also found a prominent buzz in C#, D and D# in the 6^th octave, in the same section as the crack.  I hunted for the source of the buzz and it seemed to be somewhere near the strings of these notes; I couldn't find an object on the soundboard or any other source, although it was very hard to inspect with a flashlight and mirror – the plate is close to the soundboard.  The piano is only a bit out of tune.  So here are some questions I'm pondering:

Could such a crack cause the buzz?

Given the depth and extent of the crack, does it seem that it will take a long time for anything bad to happen?

Would such a crack get worse with the strain of moving?

Should the store reject the piano outright?

If the store rejects it and it turns out to be hard to sell, what should one do with the piano?

Aside from the buzz in those few notes, the piano has a wonderful tone and touch.  I'm guessing it could give years of pleasure to some young pianist who can't afford to buy a used high-end grand that is a sure bet.

Greetings fellow technicians

I inspected a 1988 Schimmel yesterday, a 6' 10" grand.  A store is considering buying it or putting it on consignment.  I found a crack in the plate as shown in the photos.  In the first photo the crack is pretty obvious, along the corner of the strut.  In the second photo it's harder to see – it runs along the length of the "molding" and then becomes a hairline crack along the strut in the background of the photo.  This is in the 3^rd section.  I cut a little strip out of a business card and was able to insert it 3 mm into where it looked like the crack was deepest, so I would guess that the crack is likely 4-5 mm there.  I also found a prominent buzz in C#, D and D# in the 6^th octave, in the same section as the crack.  I hunted for the source of the buzz and it seemed to be somewhere near the strings of these notes; I couldn't find an object on the soundboard or any other source, although it was very hard to inspect with a flashlight and mirror – the plate is close to the soundboard.  The piano is only a bit out of tune.  So here are some questions I'm pondering:

Could such a crack cause the buzz?

Given the depth and extent of the crack, does it seem that it will take a long time for anything bad to happen?

Would such a crack get worse with the strain of moving?

Should the store reject the piano outright?

If the store rejects it and it turns out to be hard to sell, what should one do with the piano?

Aside from the buzz in those few notes, the piano has a wonderful tone and touch.  I'm guessing it could give years of pleasure to some young pianist who can't afford to buy a used high-end grand that is a sure bet.

Greetings fellow technicians

I inspected a 1988 Schimmel yesterday, a 6' 10" grand.  A store is considering buying it or putting it on consignment.  I found a crack in the plate as shown in the photos.  In the first photo the crack is pretty obvious, along the corner of the strut.  In the second photo it's harder to see – it runs along the length of the "molding" and then becomes a hairline crack along the strut in the background of the photo.  This is in the 3^rd section.  I cut a little strip out of a business card and was able to insert it 3 mm into where it looked like the crack was deepest, so I would guess that the crack is likely 4-5 mm there.  I also found a prominent buzz in C#, D and D# in the 6^th octave, in the same section as the crack.  I hunted for the source of the buzz and it seemed to be somewhere near the strings of these notes; I couldn't find an object on the soundboard or any other source, although it was very hard to inspect with a flashlight and mirror – the plate is close to the soundboard.  The piano is only a bit out of tune.  So here are some questions I'm pondering:

Could such a crack cause the buzz?

Given the depth and extent of the crack, does it seem that it will take a long time for anything bad to happen?

Would such a crack get worse with the strain of moving?

Should the store reject the piano outright?

If the store rejects it and it turns out to be hard to sell, what should one do with the piano?

Aside from the buzz in those few notes, the piano has a wonderful tone and touch.  I'm guessing it could give years of pleasure to some young pianist who can't afford to buy a used high-end grand that is a sure bet.

Greetings fellow technicians

I inspected a 1988 Schimmel yesterday, a 6' 10" grand.  A store is considering buying it or putting it on consignment.  I found a crack in the plate as shown in the photos.  In the first photo the crack is pretty obvious, along the corner of the strut.  In the second photo it's harder to see – it runs along the length of the "molding" and then becomes a hairline crack along the strut in the background of the photo.  This is in the 3^rd section.  I cut a little strip out of a business card and was able to insert it 3 mm into where it looked like the crack was deepest, so I would guess that the crack is likely 4-5 mm there.  I also found a prominent buzz in C#, D and D# in the 6^th octave, in the same section as the crack.  I hunted for the source of the buzz and it seemed to be somewhere near the strings of these notes; I couldn't find an object on the soundboard or any other source, although it was very hard to inspect with a flashlight and mirror – the plate is close to the soundboard.  The piano is only a bit out of tune.  So here are some questions I'm pondering:

Could such a crack cause the buzz?

Given the depth and extent of the crack, does it seem that it will take a long time for anything bad to happen?

Would such a crack get worse with the strain of moving?

Should the store reject the piano outright?

If the store rejects it and it turns out to be hard to sell, what should one do with the piano?

Aside from the buzz in those few notes, the piano has a wonderful tone and touch.  I'm guessing it could give years of pleasure to some young pianist who can't afford to buy a used high-end grand that is a sure bet.

Greetings fellow technicians

I inspected a 1988 Schimmel yesterday, a 6' 10" grand.  A store is considering buying it or putting it on consignment.  I found a crack in the plate as shown in the photos.  In the first photo the crack is pretty obvious, along the corner of the strut.  In the second photo it's harder to see – it runs along the length of the "molding" and then becomes a hairline crack along the strut in the background of the photo.  This is in the 3^rd section.  I cut a little strip out of a business card and was able to insert it 3 mm into where it looked like the crack was deepest, so I would guess that the crack is likely 4-5 mm there.  I also found a prominent buzz in C#, D and D# in the 6^th octave, in the same section as the crack.  I hunted for the source of the buzz and it seemed to be somewhere near the strings of these notes; I couldn't find an object on the soundboard or any other source, although it was very hard to inspect with a flashlight and mirror – the plate is close to the soundboard.  The piano is only a bit out of tune.  So here are some questions I'm pondering:

Could such a crack cause the buzz?

Given the depth and extent of the crack, does it seem that it will take a long time for anything bad to happen?

Would such a crack get worse with the strain of moving?

Should the store reject the piano outright?

If the store rejects it and it turns out to be hard to sell, what should one do with the piano?

Aside from the buzz in those few notes, the piano has a wonderful tone and touch.  I'm guessing it could give years of pleasure to some young pianist who can't afford to buy a used high-end grand that is a sure bet.