I enjoyed Diane DeTar's piano stories.  She stated that there were
no stripped screws in her Gulbransens, and all of a sudden a light
bulb came on in my mind.  I must admit that I made a mistake by making
a blanket statement.  I should have considered and added the following
to my last post [100211 MMDigest].

Here in the Midwest of the USA most of these pianos fall to pieces and
structural failures are very common.  I think it depends on the weather
conditions in which the piano is located.  Most people here in rural
areas still do not have central heating and air conditioning, and the
seasonal expansion and contraction of the wood totally wrecks these
pianos over time.  I have also encountered mice, rats, and even a snake
coiled up in the bass strut.  I have also found pianos infested with
termites in this area, so call the pest control _then_ call the tuner!

When I assisted Larry Broadmoore in California, I was amazed at the
solid condition of the old pianos in the locale.  Most of them had
solid soundboards and tight pins (as long as you do not use WD-40!).
These pianos did not need the extensive restoration

I was chastised once while writing about rebuilding my Foster piano.
A fellow e-mailed me and told me that all those repairs were not needed,
and if the piano is that bad then throw it away.  I now realize why
he wrote.  In his way of thinking, pianos rarely needed that deep of
a restoration because of the climate in which he lives.

I apologize that I failed to consider the environment, and that my last
post was a little misleading.

Andy Taylor