crevicetool
Well-known member
close-up of the cloth...
Victorian Chickering Upright Piano
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crevicetool
Well-known member
Bass strings...
crevicetool
Well-known member
Bass bridge treatment....ALL of these srings are tied, but that was done at the factory....
crevicetool
Well-known member
Last pin....
crevicetool
Well-known member
Well, that's it. At least you can see what some of the work that might be necessary in the rebuilding of your piano. Hopefully, it won't involve all of this! Next is the voicing of the hammers, regulating, tuning, tuning, tuning, - you get the picture....
I hope I didn't put anyone to sleep either!
Rick
I hope I didn't put anyone to sleep either!
Rick
58limited
Well-known member
Wow, that is incredible work. I think that is beyond my capabilities at this time, and not just because I have dozens of other neglected projects.
thor
Well-known member
Old pianos
Some time ago I was watching an excellent documentary on American made Steinway & Sons pianos, covering the manufacturing stage, their sales show-room, views of different pianos in use around the world, etc. It was really excellent. I really loved it.
At some point someone from Steinway explained that their sales were guaranteed by the "replacement factor" (maybe he used some different expression) due to the fact that as pianos age their sound degrades no matter what, being this an exception amongst all string instruments. I love music, but I don't know anything at all about old pianos. Have you ever heard of this before?
Emilio
Some time ago I was watching an excellent documentary on American made Steinway & Sons pianos, covering the manufacturing stage, their sales show-room, views of different pianos in use around the world, etc. It was really excellent. I really loved it.
At some point someone from Steinway explained that their sales were guaranteed by the "replacement factor" (maybe he used some different expression) due to the fact that as pianos age their sound degrades no matter what, being this an exception amongst all string instruments. I love music, but I don't know anything at all about old pianos. Have you ever heard of this before?
Emilio
Rebuilding
I had my Mason and Hamlin grand rebuilt for a cost of $8500.00 in 2007. New strings, new pinblock,hammers and hammer shanks,new pins. Everything that needed to be rebushed, etc. It sounds wonderful and stays in tune just fine. Chickering was a respected company and if I am not mistaken, Chickering improved on the cast iron plate and may have come up with the idea of cross stringing in grands at least. Bass strings over upper strings? I just looked up your serial number and your piano was built between 1880 and 1885 according to the Pierce Piano Atlas. Happy playing.
Gary
I had my Mason and Hamlin grand rebuilt for a cost of $8500.00 in 2007. New strings, new pinblock,hammers and hammer shanks,new pins. Everything that needed to be rebushed, etc. It sounds wonderful and stays in tune just fine. Chickering was a respected company and if I am not mistaken, Chickering improved on the cast iron plate and may have come up with the idea of cross stringing in grands at least. Bass strings over upper strings? I just looked up your serial number and your piano was built between 1880 and 1885 according to the Pierce Piano Atlas. Happy playing.
Gary
58limited
Well-known member
The technician just left. He can work on the strings and action but he doesn't do woodwork. Based on the sound of the "good" strings and keys, he thinks the soundboard is fine. He said it looks like someone went in with wire cutters and cut a bunch of the wires: they usually break up by the pins, not several inches below them. There must be over a dozen cut wires. The hammers will need replacing, keys recovered, etc. It basically needs the work done that Rick did to his grand piano in the above pictures (we did not get access to the pin board so do not know its condition). Basically, this Chickering will simply be a living room decoration - for now. It would take several thousand dollars to get it in playing condition if I hired the work out, much of the cost being labor (I don't know what my cost on parts would be if I should decide to attempt this myself).
Rick, what did you use to strip the cabinet?
Rick, what did you use to strip the cabinet?
Piano Documentary
A few posts up thread there was mention of a piano making documentary. For those that have Netflix look for:
Note by Note: The making of Steinway L1037
They filmed for more then a year, starting with selection of the wood and ending with the piano ending in Steinway's display hall. Lots of colorful content from the craftspeople and musicians along the way.
I found it to be a fascinating look into these great instruments and how American manufacturing used to be.
A few posts up thread there was mention of a piano making documentary. For those that have Netflix look for:
Note by Note: The making of Steinway L1037
They filmed for more then a year, starting with selection of the wood and ending with the piano ending in Steinway's display hall. Lots of colorful content from the craftspeople and musicians along the way.
I found it to be a fascinating look into these great instruments and how American manufacturing used to be.
whirlcool
Well-known member
Just after I got out of college I moved to an apartment in Chicago. I had a neighbor that was a piano student at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. I was going to buy a studio piano for myself and I asked him for tips.
I learned more about how pianos were made then I ever needed to know from him. After gaining all this knowledge I just saw things being cheapened on all the major brands. This was in 74. Baldwin no longer made a studio piano. Their spinets sounded tinny with a cheap sounding board, Kimball was just as bad. This was about the time people started looking at Kwai & Yamaha. The neighbor had a Steinway baby grand in his apartment.
Finally one day I found the piano that met all my specifications, a Walter piano. All hand built and the president of the company hand signs each piano as they are completed. So I bought a studio piano for about $4,000. I kept that thing for about 15 years before it became too bothersome to move around as much as I was.
Plus Karen referred to it as "the hulk" in the living room. I got a very good price for it. Nowadays they still make the same piano, for about $15K. If I ever bought another piano, I'd buy another Walter.
But electronic synthesizers are so much easier to move!
I learned more about how pianos were made then I ever needed to know from him. After gaining all this knowledge I just saw things being cheapened on all the major brands. This was in 74. Baldwin no longer made a studio piano. Their spinets sounded tinny with a cheap sounding board, Kimball was just as bad. This was about the time people started looking at Kwai & Yamaha. The neighbor had a Steinway baby grand in his apartment.
Finally one day I found the piano that met all my specifications, a Walter piano. All hand built and the president of the company hand signs each piano as they are completed. So I bought a studio piano for about $4,000. I kept that thing for about 15 years before it became too bothersome to move around as much as I was.
Plus Karen referred to it as "the hulk" in the living room. I got a very good price for it. Nowadays they still make the same piano, for about $15K. If I ever bought another piano, I'd buy another Walter.
But electronic synthesizers are so much easier to move!
