Hess Piano Co.

Steinway O Strung

2011-09-28T14:05:00.000-07:00

Well, a lot has happened since my last post. I have been very busy with tuning work in addition to shop work, so I just haven't had time to write. The board was pressed several weeks ago, the bridge work was completed, and the bridges were attached to the board. After the bottom of the board was sprayed, it was glued into the piano.

The pinblock was drilled to receive the tuning pins, and the plate was refinished before being installed over top the pinblock and soundboard/bridge assembly. The piano then is ready to have all new strings and tuning pins installed.

After being strung, The dampers will be reinstalled with new felts, and the action work will be completed. More on that later.

Steinway O Soundboard Built

2011-08-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

The past weeks I have accomplished a fair amount of work on the Steinway. The bridges are capped, and the soundboard is pressed. Today I set the bearing on the bridge tops. The pictures tell most of the story.

Steinway O 169690 Soundboard Construction

2011-08-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

The new soundboard being built started out as a Sitka Spruce tree in North West Washington State. After the log was allowed to season, it was cut up by a milling company in Washington State. The log is quarter sawn, and only a select few pieces of the log are of the quality need for a piano soundboard. That quality includes nearly vertical grain, straight grain the entire length of the piece of wood, clear-no knots or pitch pockets, and annular rings that are tight and close to one another. After the pieces are selected, they need to be laid out to accommodate the size and angle of the grain in the new soundboard. After this has been accomplished, the pieces of the soundboard were sent to my shop on Pennsylvania, where I glue the pieces together, plane the panel to the proper thickness, and cut the glued up pieces into the shape of the soundboard. After sanding it is ready to receive the ribs that will be glued to the panel. Preparing the ribs is another story.

Steinway O Rim cleaned

2011-07-28T14:05:00.000-07:00

After the old soundboard is broken out of the piano, a fair amount of wood and glue residue remain. The rim gluing surface needs to be cleaned in preparation of installing the new soundboard. Chisels are used to remove the large pieces of wood residue with extreme caution so that the original rim surface is not damaged. Then the surface is soaked with a special water solution that softens the old glue so that it can be scraped from the rim glue surface.After this process is completed, the rim is left to dry overnight after which the surface is lightly sanded and any repairs that are needed are done.

Steinway O 169690 Soundboard removed

2011-07-06T09:37:00.000-07:00

Removing a soundboard from a piano is the no turning back point in belly work. The soundboard is glued to the piano inner rim and needs to be "broken" out of the piano. I take great care in removing the old board as I use it for a pattern in making the new board. I endeavor to replicate the old board, and make improvements where possible. The pictures show the removed board.

Steinway O 169690 Plate removed

2011-07-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

Removing the cast iron plate in a piano can be a bit un-nerving as it weighs several hundred pounds, and could cause damage to the piano if improperly handled, or worse yet, injury to the technician removing it. An electric hoist makes the job a bit safer.

Steinway O 169690 Strings removed

2011-06-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

Having completed recording all the measurements and patterns, I moved to the next step of removing all the strings. The tension was lowered somewhat evenly until the strings were slack. Then the beckets on the tuning pins were broken, and the tuning pins turned out of the pinblock. This then allows the old strings to be removed. They are discarded, and all new strings will be installed at the end of the project.

Grandma-Grandpa Camp 2011

2011-06-25T16:37:00.000-07:00

Again this year we took five of our seven grandchildren to our Roxbury Cabin to have Grandma and Grandpa camp. Rosanna and I traveled to Michigan on Wednesday evening June 12th to pick up two of our three Michigan Grandchildren. We left for Pennsylvania on Wednesday morning after Anna was finished with her last day of school. We arrived at Roxbury at about 6PM to join the Pennsylvania Grandchildren. On Thursday we enjoyed a day at the Whitaker Center Science Center, saw an IMax movie and ate lunch at Strawberry Square. On Friday we traveled to Little Buffalo State Park, and enjoyed a day of swimming and a picnic lunch. Saturday noon we returned to Mechanicsburg where Greg and Bethy arrive at about 6PM to join us for a family picnic. The kids had fun singing the songs they learned for their parentsThe Michigan crew left to return home at 5AM on Sunday morning. Grandma and grandpa were tired, but full of wonderful memories.

Steinway O 169690

2011-06-25T08:14:00.000-07:00

After a year of very little piano rebuilding work, it is again good to have several projects in process at my shop. The most recent is an 1914 model O that I will be installing a new sound board, etc. The piano was partially rebuilt about 30 years ago, with the sound board and bridges being repaired. They are now in need of replacement to bring back the full potential that lies in this piano. The pictures show that the dampers have been removed, and patterns and measurements are being taken to insure that the original beauty of this instruments sound is preserved. Parts have been ordered, and many have been received. I am waiting for the sitka spruce to arrive from Washington State to begin construction of the new soundboard.

Harp Sharping Levers

2011-06-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

The harp has settled in now, so after 4 months I have installed the sharping levers. Had a good friend who also builds harps look at my harp last evening. His comments were favorable. Any guesses when I'll build my next harp? I have the major components for another one, but thankfully I have a lot of piano rebuilding work again, so it may be a while.

Harp Completed...well, almost

2011-03-01T12:51:00.000-08:00

Today I did the final rubbing out of the finish, assembled the neck/pillar to the shell and strung the instrument. The mono filament strings stretch incredibly, so it will require a lot of tuning. After the tuning stabilizes a bit, we will be able to install sharping levers, making it a full fledged lever harp.

Harp Progress

2011-02-28T13:39:00.000-08:00

These past weeks have been spent sanding, finishing and now assembling harp #2. The finish is sprayed lacquer that is sanded and steel wooled to give the finish a satin luster. Hopefully I can rub the neck/pillar tomorrow and start stringing.

Regency Harp Progress

2011-02-01T09:47:00.000-08:00

I have finally had time to get back to my harp building. The past 7 weeks have been very busy with piano tuning, for which I am thankful. Last evening I was able to glue the soundboard into the shell. Now I need to install the finish trim , final sanding and finish to complete this part of the harp. The neck/post are assembled and veneered, and also need to have final prep done before finishing. After everything is has been lacquered, it will be time to string....but that is a week or two away I am sure.

Life Interupted

2011-02-01T09:30:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I last wrote. Less than a week after my last post I received a call from my wife saying the house was on fire....not the kind of call you want to get! Since the fire our lives have been turned upside down a bit. But the good new is that no one was injured. And we only had smoke damage on our half of the house. The interior of our tenants half of our house was totally destroyed. We were unable to live in our house for 10 weeks, and even though we are now living in our house, we do not have the use of our family room which housed our business office, and our wood stove. So life continues to be a bit interrupted, but life goes on, our God has been faithful to us in providing us with peace in the midst of the storm. Several attached photos shows the progress on our family room.

Shomacker Work Continues

2010-09-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

Today, after making sure the plate was in proper position, I dry fitted the bridges to the board, and then dry fit the board to the piano rim. I was then ready to set the bearing. This is done by cutting notches in the oversized bridge cap to the level that I want to plane the entire bridge top to. This is done so that the level of the bridge top is slightly higher than the natural plane of the string when stretched between the upper and lower pressure points, thus creating down bearing on the bridge. This is a situation where I want enough down bearing, but not too much. Every rebuilder has his own recipe as to what that is. Mine shall not be revealed on this page! Also note the picture of the old and new board side by side.

Schoemaker Upright Board Pressed

2010-09-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

Today I pressed the board for the Schoemaker upright. The task was pretty non-eventful. This was board #65. I need to get it and the bridges installed by the middle of the month.

Upright Soundboard Panel Glue Up Completed

2010-08-18T13:33:00.000-07:00

After gluing up five parts of the panel each at 12" or less, these piece were run through the thickness planer to even up the joined edges. The next step was to glue these 5 pieces together forming an almost complete panel. The final step was to glue the small corner pieces into place. When dried to 5% EMC, I can begin fitting the panel to the piano.

Sound Board Panel Building Day

2010-08-12T13:52:00.000-07:00

I spent the day gluing up the soundboard panel for the Schoeninger upright. I am still waiting for several pieces to be shipped, but could begin because I am building the board in sections. This is a new experience for me as I usually purchase the boards already glued up. But there is a financial consideration- the unglued panels can be shipped UPS or FedX at a reasonable cost. The glued up panels must be shipped common carrier, and this costs almost as much as the panel itself. In this case, I am glad I am gluing it up myself, as the supplier laid it up incorrectly, which I can correct. If it had been glued up by my supplier, I would have been in a pickle! I even had time to glue up a board for my next harp project.

Schomacker Upright Board Under Construction

2010-08-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

After enjoying a number of weeks away this summer, it's time to get on the Schomacker Upright board. I am still waiting for the final pieces of the board, as there was a mix up in the angle of the panel grain, that required me to re-lay up the board.Fortunately, the board was a kit, and not already glued up...I would of been in real trouble! Today I cut and shaped the ribs, and fit them into the rim. Hopefully the needed pieces of spruce will arrive soon so that I can continue the project.

The bridges have already been capped. Sorry that I didn't photograph that project.

Steinway A Strung...Finally!

2010-07-03T07:32:00.000-07:00

This week I finally completed the belly work on the Steinway. I had hoped to get it completed before our family vacation, but didn't get it accomplished because of a rash of tuning calls. I'm glad it is finished as I will be away for 2 weeks, and need to get on to the upright sound board when I return. Hopefully the spruce panel will arrive shortly after I return.

Steinway A Ready to String

2010-06-16T12:57:00.000-07:00

I had hoped to string the Steinway this week, but a flurry of tuning calls has delayed the process. Next week I am on vacation, so hopefully June 28 will be the day to start. The pinblock has been drilled, and the plate suspension dowels installed, and the board top finished prior to the plate installation.

Schomaker Upright Piano

2010-06-09T12:46:00.001-07:00

I recently began a soundboard project on a Schomaker upright piano built in Philadelphia in 1903. This is a very interesting piano. I will note some of it's unique features.

First off, the sides are doweled and held to the back by two large bolts and nuts. There was no glue used. This is wonderful for the rebuilder, as the sides are very easily removed and replaced.

The rim that the soundboard is attached to is a large laminated "U" shaped rim, much like a grand piano rim. The pinblock is mortised into this "rim" and the bottom portion of the pinblock serves as the top liner for the soundboard to be attached.

Instead of back posts, there is a cast "spider" that is lagged to the corners of the rim, and is attached to the bottom side of the pinblock. The plate has a horn much like a grand piano, that comes in contact with the spider.

This piano should rock! It has a strange scale, so should be re-scaled. I'll keep you posted as work progresses.

Steinway A Soundboard Trim

2010-06-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

After the new soundboard is glued into the piano, there are several pieces of trim that need to be installed. These are 1/2" cove moldings. These are round, and need to be pressed both down onto the board and side ways to the piano side. The photos show the cauls I use to accomplish this.

Steinway A Soundboard Glued

2010-06-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

I am hoping to get my Steinway A strung in the near future. The first step is gluing the completed board into the piano. Today was the day...nearly 1 year after the board was pressed. In that year I have done case repairs and sprayed with black lacquer, recapped and installed the bridges onto the board, and finised the underside of the board.

Harp Progress

2010-05-05T10:36:00.000-07:00

After a few months off, I'm back on my harp project. The base has been dry fit to the shell, and the neck/pillar has also been dry fit. Note that the pillar and neck are one piece of Delignet. It will be veneered on both sides with 3/16" cherry veneer to match the shell and base.

Reconditioned Piano For Sale

2010-04-27T08:37:00.000-07:00

Woodworking 101

2010-04-26T05:51:00.000-07:00

One of my greatest joys in life is teaching my 6 year old grandson woodworking skills. Recently he used the scroll saw (with grandpa's guidence) to build a simple wooden train from plans. Benjamin says it is for his baby sister, but I think he will enjoy playing with it until Emily gets a bit older!

Upside Down Piano

2010-04-26T05:37:00.000-07:00

A recent project has been adding a few years of life to a piano set to be discarded. One of the jobs was treating the pinblock with CA glue.I got the "bright" idea to treat it form the bottom. So I flipped the piano (not recommended in the customer's home) and applied the CA glue from the bottom. Advantage- no mess on the plate, coils, pins, etc. Disadvantage- I don't think the glue soaks in as well because the pins are not pulled back by the tension, leaving a small void to be filled with the CA glue. Comments anyone?

Long Time...No Blog

2010-04-26T05:31:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it has been nearly 2 months since I have been on my blog. Several reasons...One is that I have had no rebuilding work to report on. Secondly, I have been spending a lot of time in ministry preparation, which cuts into my time for extras, like blogging. I have three puppet programs upcoming in May, using largely new material. And UpStreet continues to keep us busy as we look to wind up the 2009-2010 year in a few months, and need to recruit for the new school year. I am anxious to get back on my harp building as it has been on hold these past 2 months as well. So hopefully, I will be adding things a little more regularly in the future.

Harp Sound Hole Jig

2010-03-02T11:12:00.000-08:00

I constructed a jig to cut the sound holes in the shell utilizing a plunge router. Worked effortlessly to create perfect sound holes in a matter of minutes. Now I need to make the base and soundboard.

Harp Shell Nears Completion

2010-03-01T05:55:00.000-08:00

The stave harp shell that I am building is nearly completed. First the ends were trimmed to match the base and cap. Then three braces were constructed and epoxied into place. Finally the shelf for the soundboard was installed.All that remains is installing several screws to the stricture for added strength, and to cut out the sound holes.

Harp Shell Progress.

2010-02-24T12:04:00.000-08:00

The base and the cap for the shell have been fitted in preparation for permanent installation. Six blocks were installed on the staves to add additional strength to the base of the shell. The fitting of the base and cap was rather interesting because of the multiple angles required. Epoxie will be used for the installation as it will provide good strength and gap filling ability.

Harp Stave Shell #2

2010-02-04T13:22:00.000-08:00

Taking the lessons learned from shell#1 failure, I made shell #2 today. Still not perfect, but improved from #1. The following changes were made:
The thickness of the staves was increased from 1/4" to 5/16"
Stave #1 and #10 were cut to 3/4" end to end with outside edge at 90 degrees
Inside cauls were employed
Less tension was put on tape across the grain
The end dimensions across the top seem to be good, and the base is now closer to the desired depth. Now it's time to build the bottom panel, and bracing.

Stave Back Harp

2010-02-01T08:26:00.000-08:00

I have begun jigging up to build my second harp. I am planning to adapt the plans for a Regency harp to accommodate a stave back. This appeals to me because a rounded back is more comfortable to play, and using staves allows you to do some interesting with matching grain and figure of the wood. My first attempt was fairly successful in the glue up stage as you can see by the photos. Unfortunately, I learned an important lesson today the hard way. It is important to do the internal bracing first before you try cutting the back to size and shape. The last photo shows what happens when you don't....disaster. The bandsaw blade shattered the entire shell into many pieces. If at first you don't succeed, try again!

Steinway A Veneering Complete

2010-01-26T08:29:00.000-08:00

After the checks were veneered, I also put new veneer on the top of the rim. This is much easier as it is a flat surface. The original veneer was removed by a previous refinisher, and not replaced. Also the rim edges were rounded excessively, which required some repair to the rim. The completed reveneering task is very rewarding and makes for a professional repair that was left undone by a previous rebuilder.

Steinway A Re-veneering

2010-01-15T13:58:00.000-08:00

The Steinway A had some very poor body work done on it by a previous rebuilder. All the edges of the case were severely rounded. To repair this mistake, I have removed the edge veneer, filled the sides with polyester filler, and then applied new veneer. The cheeks were the first to be done. You work from the bottom and work up so that the top layer covers the top edge of the veneer below. Clamping is a bit tricky. The pics show you how I accomplish the clamping of tightbond II extend glue.

Mason BB Returned to ESU

2010-01-09T08:10:00.000-08:00

This week brought to near completion the Mason BB project. It was returned to ESU with the plate removed. The elevator to the second floor is too small to fit the piano unless it was turned on it's front edge, which is extremely difficult with the weight of the plate in the piano, hence the piano was returned with the plate removed. That meant that we had to reassemble the piano after it was in place in the teaching studio. I spent two days in E. Stroudsburg stringing the pianos and installing the dampers. I will need to make one final trip to fine regulate the dampers after the action work is completed.

M&H BB Damper Back Action Replacement

2009-12-14T14:05:00.000-08:00

Damper work can be some of the most tedious work in piano rebuilding. Everything needs to be precisely positioned for proper operation. Ofter it is desirable to replace the damper back action as part of obtaining proper damper performance. On the Mason, the original back action was kind of an odd-ball design that I have never seen before. Because of the odd design, and the age of the instrument, it was decided to install a replacement.

In this case, the design and dimensions of the replacement were totally different than the original, so it required a bit of planning to make the replacement. You can see the differences in the photos.

Mason & Hamlin BB Pinblock Drilled

2009-12-10T12:38:00.000-08:00

The Mason pinblock was drilled while installed on the plate. This is because the Mason has tuning pin bushings. Actually, this is the way I formerly drilled my pinblocks. If the piano didn't have tuning pin bushings, I installed them.

To accomplish this, the plate is set up outside the piano. I aim for a 3 degree angle on the pin, so the rear of the plate is set lower than the front. My drill press head can be rotated 180 degrees to the rear. My drill press is mounted on a cart with large wheels, and the base is filled with ballast to make it secure when moving.

Drilling through the tuning pin bushings speeds the process if stringing by allowing the stringer to push the pins into the plate, and be held there. Also, there is no chance of the tuning pins holes being miss-aligned. The pictures show the set up.

New Apprentice

2009-12-09T13:17:00.000-08:00

For his sixth birthday, Benjamin's grandpa (me!) bought him a children's tool kit. Benjamin told me it was his best present ever:). Here he is working on his first project- a wooded tractor.

Family Time

2009-12-02T11:47:00.000-08:00

I haven't written much lately for two reasons. First, I have been busy tuning, and second, I have been busy with family. Several pictures tell it all.

Baldwin F Strung

2009-11-17T13:01:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I completed the belly work on the Baldwin by installing the strings. Next, dampers have to be installed, and lots of action work.

Plate Suspenstion

2009-11-16T13:33:00.000-08:00

Before the plate can be installed, the suspension dowels must be reinstalled. The Mason and Hamlin originally had one lag bolt per plate screw as suspension dowels. This is a rather undignified means of suspending the plate for a prestigious piano. So i changed to a standard two dowel per screw system.

I drill holes through the soundboard into the rim about 3/4" deep. These holes are roughly 1" on either side of the plate screw hole. I use a compressible indexing dowel to determine the length of the dowels to be installed. The indexing dowels are extended longer than the future dowel, and then the plate is installed on top. The weight of the plate compresses the indexing dowels to their proper height. The indexing dowels are then measured, and the permanent dowel length is matched. Glue is applied to the holes, the dowels are installed, and the plate is installed on top of the new dowels.

Baldwin F Pinblock Drilled

2009-11-12T07:41:00.000-08:00

I use my drill press for drilling most pinblocks. I built a cross sliding table that mounts to my drill press table. It moves both side to side and front to back. I use a chiller to keep the drill bit cool while drilling the very hard wood in the pinclock. The pinblock is marked when mounted to the plate to locate the pin hole locations.

If the plate has tuning bushings I drill the block through the plate. That's a discussion for another time

Soundboard Tops Finished

2009-11-09T13:36:00.000-08:00

After the new board is glued into the piano, it is ready to be finished. The overhang at the front edge of the stretcher is planed flush and sanded. Also, any trim pieces must be reglued and soundboard decals applied. The the piano and bridges are masked, and lacquer is sprayed to complete the finish.

Soundboards Glued In Pianos

2009-11-03T14:15:00.000-08:00

Both soundboards have been glued into the pianos. This is done after the bridges are attached and bottom side of the board is finished. This is accomplished with liquid hide glue and lots of clamps. After I complete this task, I nearly always sit down, and just reflect on all the work that has been done to get us to this place.

Board Bottoms Finished

2009-10-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

After the bridges have been glued and doweled to the new board, the bottom side can be finished. The first operation is to cot the dowels flush with the rib top. Then a radius is cut on the top of the rib using a special hand plane. Following a lot of hand sanding, the edge gluing surfaces are masked and finish is applied. This completes the bottom side, and the board is ready to be installed in the piano. The top will be finished later.

Bridges Glued To Soundboard

2009-10-26T13:13:00.000-07:00

My soundboard press serves two purposes. It is not only a soundboard press, but also a bridge press. Many rebuilders have a separate fixture for gluing bridges, but in my small shop, space is a major issue, so if I can use one fixture for two purposes, I am happy.

I use liquid hide glue for mounting the bridges. It has a long open time (15-20 minutes), and is easily reversible in case the bridge needs to be removed at a later date. I also think hide glue has a very good sound transmission quality, although that is hard to quantify.

A heavy coat of glue is applied to the bridge body only. The bridge is placed on the new board using the locater pins to position it. Several screws are used to hold the bridges in place, and then the board is turned upside down on the bench. Now I use temporary screws in the holes where dowels will later be installed, through the rib and into the bridge. Finally the board is placed on the press, and the area between the ribs are clamped in place with air pressure.

After the board has been in the press for 5-6 hours, the screws in the ribs are removed, and dowels are installed.

Bridges Drilled, Notched and Pinned

2009-10-20T09:32:00.000-07:00

After the new caps are planed to the desired height, I reinstall the patterns made from the original caps, and mark every pin hole with a pencil mark. I then reinstall the dryfitted bridge and soundboard into the piano, and place the plate in place. This allows me to be sure that I am satisfied with my down bearing and to check the bridge pin locations.

With the bridge back on the bench, I make any adjustments to the pin locations that I feel necessary. A triple pinned punch is used to center punch the pin locations. When all of the holes have been located, I black and lubricate the bridge top. For drilling the pin hole, most technicians choose to do this operation by hand, as the hole must be drilled at a compound angle. I have devised a method of drilling on my drill press, which allows for a more controlled boring.

Notching is probably the most physical job of rebuilding. Chiseling notches in rock had maple take a lot of force. My shoulder still aches several days after completing this job. It is also a rather tedious job, as it is important to evenly split the bridge pin hole in half with the chisel as the trough is formed. Eighty eight notes, two sides to the bridge equals 196 notches.

The final operation is to install the new bridge pins. The pins are filed flat on top as the final step of the process. Now- get ready to permanently glue the bridges to the mew board.

Planing Bridge Tops

2009-10-15T13:53:00.000-07:00

After the notches are cut in the bridge tops to the height for proper bearing, the remaining wood must be planed and sanded. Since the board and bridges were dry fitted, I can remove them and do the final work on the bench. (Some rebuilders do all this after the bridges and board are glued into the piano. That requires you to be at some very awkward positions, which my body doesn't do any more!)

I start with a power planer. This requires a lot of care as the machine takes off a lot of material in a hurry. I follow that with a small power sander with 60 grit paper. Again care must be taken. It is very easy to end up with a rounded top, rather than the desired flat top on the bridge with this machine. I finally finish with hand sanding, doing 100, 120, 150 and finishing with 220 paper. Again, care must be taken to keep the bridge top flat. I check this with a straight edge while sanding.

When the sanding is completed, I use my indexing holes to locate the patterns that were made earlier, and mark with pencil all the pin locations. Then the bridge is again dry fitted to the board and piano, and the plate installed. Now I can check that I am satisfied with my bearing, and can also check the bridge pin locations.

Setting Bearing

2009-10-12T04:32:00.000-07:00

I continue to work on two projects simultaneously, that being the Baldwin F and the Mason and Hamlin BB. Setting the bearing (determining how much down bearing will be exerted on the bridge surface)is one of the most demanding jobs, as you only get one chance to get it right (although there are ways to fudge it if you aren't satisfied with the final results). How much bearing is needed at various points on the bridge is determined by each rebuilders experience and theory as to what contributes to the tone quality desired. Every rebuilder has his own formula. A simplified explanation of the formula that I follow is that I determine to approximate the amount of downbearing to equal the amount of crown that is present in the soundboard directly below the area of the bridge where the bearing is being set.

The new bridge caps were installed at a thickness greater than necessary. The bearing is set by cutting notches in the cap to the desired finish height of the bridge cap, and then planing the wood surface to that height (thickness) determined by the notch.

To accomplish this, the bridges are dry fit to the soundboard and the soundboard is dry fit to the piano. The plate is then installed on the pinblock and set to it's predetermined height. A string is stretched between the agraffe or V bar and the bearing point on the plate at the rear of the bridge. The bearing on the bridge is determined by the amount of deflection on the string between the front and rear termination points.

Long Time, No Blog!

2009-10-12T04:24:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry that I haven't added anything to the blog for a while. These have been very busy weeks partially because I have taken two long weekends in the interim. One weekend Rosanna and I attended a couples retreat at Roxbury Camp (staying in our cabin) and another weekend we were in Ocean City MD with some of Rosanna's college days friends. On top of that, I have been tuning pianos nearly every day, with little time in the shop. So, now I hope to be back on track with several posts a week.

Mason BB Pinblock Located

2009-09-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

After the pinblock is fit to the plate, it must be located in the body of the piano to the proper location and height. I prefer to have my blocks fit tight on the sides and the front to the stretcher. This requires careful indexing and some trial and error. The plate must be returned to it's proper height and location side to side and back to back. Also the pinblock must lay flat on the shelf where it is mounted. When all these requirements are met, the block is dry fit with screws for the next step of setting the bearing.

Two Pinblocks Fit To Plate

2009-09-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

Two pinblocks in one day isn't a bad days work! I spend more time fitting the block to the plate than most. I feel it is important to have a good fit not only on the flange, but also to the web of the plate. I fit the block to the web much like I fit the block to the flange. The web area is masked, and paint is applied to the web and the flange. A power sander is used to remove the high spots (dark areas) until the desired fit is achieved. I finish the flange fit with automotive polyester body filler for a perfect flange fit.

Bridge Cap Glue Up

2009-09-21T14:06:00.000-07:00

One half inch thick quarter sawn hard rock maple is the material used for bridge caps. Because the cap and the bridge body are made from a very hard wood, it is very important that the joining surfaces mate perfectly. I use a combination of thickness planer, joiner, sanding block and scraper to achieve this perfect mating. It is a bit tedious, but it is possible. Once this is accomplished, the cap and body are joined with a special glue (Bolduc acoustic wood glue) and clamped with about 200 psi pressure. After drying overnight, the over hanging wood stock is removed with a spiral trimming router bit in my router table. The result is a tight joint, and nicely planed side, and a bridge that is ready to be planed to the proper height when setting the bearing.

Bridge Work

2009-09-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

Today was bridge work day. No, I wasn't at the dentist. I was beginning the process of installing new caps to two piano's bridges. The old bridge pins have been removed, and a pattern is made to recreate the old bridge pin lay out after the new cap is glued to the bridge body. Thin Lexan is used as a pattern material. It is placed on top of the old bridge cap and indexing holes are drilled through the Lexan and through the bridge cap and bridge body. The blank patterns are attached to the old bridges with bridge pins. An awl is then used to mark the locations on all the empty bridge pin holes. The patterns are completed by drilling a hole through the pattern at every bridge pin location. After the patterns are completed, and the thickness of the original bridges are recorded, the old caps are removed with the bandsaw. The old bridge pin holes are plugged with small dowels and glue. After the glue has sufficient time to dry, the bridge body will be planed to receive the new caps.

Mason & Hamlin BB Board Pressed

2009-09-16T12:38:00.000-07:00

In less than a week I have pressed two sound boards, the latest being the Mason and Hamlin BB. Above is a pic of the old beside the new. At this time i have three pressed boards in my hot box. It seems things come in waves. The second pic is inside my hot box.

Baldwin F Soundboard Pressed

2009-09-11T12:17:00.000-07:00

Today the Baldwin F board was pressed. The panel had been maintained at 5.0 % EMC for several weeks now, and all the prep work was completed. The ribs were glues with Bolduc supplied glue, at 100 PSI. It was in the press for 6 hours. Now back into the hot box. It will remain there through all the bridge work and final fitting. Only after the board is glued into the piano will be allowed to return to normal atmospheric conditions.

Baldwin F Ribs Indexed

2009-09-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

After the ribs are properly fit to the rim reliefs, and the new soundboard panel is fit to the rim, I am ready to index the ribs to the new panel. A hole is drilled through all the rib tips into the rim. Following that, a #7 bridge pin is installed in all the ribs and the 3 original indexing holes drilled before the old board was removed. The fit new panel is then placed on top, and the protruding bridge pins are press into the panel, leaving indentations. Using these indentations, the old board is laid on top of the new panel, and aligned to the 3 indexing pins. All the holes are transferred from the old board to the new panel. The indexed new ribs are then placed on the new panel, and traced. These holes will be used to locate the ribs when the board is pressed.

Mason & Hamlin BB Rib Work

2009-09-04T13:23:00.000-07:00

The Mason's original ribbing seemed a bit to heavy to my taste, especially in the treble. The reliefs were shorter than most pianos, and the tail thickness thicker. Before removing the strings, I noted that the piano had excessive down bearing over most of the board. This tells me that the board was overly stiff. I disagree with the concept that if a little bearing is good, a lot is better. Too muck down bearing on an over stiff board equals limited freedom of movement, thus limiting the sound. Others would argue that excessive bearing creates a bigger sound. That doesn't compute in my overall philosophy as to what makes a great sounding board. I believe a board needs to be in a state of equilibrium- meaning that down bearing and crown, as they oppose each other, are about equal and therefore the board is very free to vibrate. If one force overbears the other, the board is not in a state of equilibrium, and the sound will be diminished. Pictured is the rib work in process.

Bridge Bottoms Cleaned

2009-09-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

When removing bridges that are glued to the soundboard, a fair amount of soundboard wood and glue residue are left on the bridges. The wood reside is carefully removed with a wood chisel. The goal is to remove the soundboard wood, but not nick the bridge bottom. Then the surface is soaked with a solution of wall paper remover and water, and let stand for 10-15 minutes. A wood scraper is then used to remove the old glue residue, leaving a clean surface for future attachment to the new soundboard.

Mason & Hamlin BB Rim/Rib Notches

2009-09-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

The original soundboard on this Mason had very short rib tails in the rim. I personally feel that a deeper rib tail makes for a better sounding board, so the notches in the rim were extended. This was accomplished with a few chisels and a little elbow grease!

Baldwin F Ribs

2009-08-31T13:37:00.000-07:00

Some steps of making a soundboard are invisible after the board is built. Fitting the ribs to the rim of the piano is one of those details that is unseen, but I believe is important in achieving a good sound when the board is completed. I start by rough cutting the length of the ribs. The original rib dimensions are usually duplicated. Then the width of the individual ribs are cut and planed smooth. Now the exact length of the ribs is determined by hand fitting each to the notches in the rim of the piano. Next a radius is cut on the face side of the rib. Finally, the ribs are cut to their proper thickness and planed smooth. At this point, the reliefs are cut out of the ends. The cut outs are saved to use as cauls when pressing the board. A final hand fitting of the ribs into the rim is done, checking all aspects of the desired dimensions. This attention to detail is one step in recreating a great sounding piano soundboard.

Mason & Hamlin BB Board Out

2009-08-29T08:24:00.001-07:00

With two soundboard jobs going at once, there will be a bit of repetition in my reporting of shop work. The Mason board came out fairly easily (but not without some effort) because the ribs are not notched into the liner very far, about 1". I will be changing this as I feel it is important for the ribs to have more support that comes with a deeper notch, about 2 1/2". More on that on a later post.

Baldwin F Rim Cleaned

2009-08-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

After the old board is removed, the old glue and wood residue must be removed. This is accomplished by first removing the large pieces of wood reside with a chisel. Care must be taken not to damage the rim shelf. Then a solution of wallpaper remover and water is applied and allowed to soak for about 30 minutes. The softened glue and remaining wood fibers are then removed with a wood scraper. If the glue used to glue the board in is not water soluble, the clean up job is much more difficult.

Baldwin F Soundboard Out

2009-08-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

After drilling indexing hole through the board into the rim, I am ready to remove the old soundboard. The tools for removal- a sledge hammer and a pry bar. Yep, nothing dainty about this job. The board is glued in around it's entire perimeter, and needs to be broken free. I start by hammering at each accessible rib/rim junctures. Then I pry the front of the board loose. This is the easiest spot to break loose as the liner is fairly thin. Then I work around the sides until the board breaks free and can be pushed up and out of the piano.

Mason & Hamlin BB Soundboard Crown

2009-08-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

The question of the day- Wow, the board on this piano looks pretty good. I can see the crown. Maybe we shouldn't replace it. My answer- yes we should! Looks can be deceiving. I'd like to explain why. First off, the piano was built in 1963, making the piano 46 years old. My rule of thumb from my experience of replacing over 60 sound boards and repairing at least that many, is that any board over 40 years old should be replaced when the piano is rebuilt. My logic is that glue joints weaken with age. On this piano a soundboard steel can be pushed into the side of the rib showing a weakening glue joint.

The next issue with this piano are the bridges. The bridges definitely need recapped. Quality bridge recapping is impossible with out removing the bridges from the sound board. Gluing maple to maple requires a very precise joint and about 200psi clamping pressure, which is impossible to achieve while mounted to the soundboard. Removing the bridge from the board is messy, especially with the board still in the piano. You are dealing with screws hidden by beams, and doweling into the ribs, not to mention damage to the spruce panel as the bridge is removed.

Finally...the deception. The crown on this piano is not a natural crown, but a forced crown. The pictures show how the rim is crowned on the straight side and on the stretcher. Therefore the board has to have a crown, regardless of the condition of the board. Also the rim angle is nearly double what most quality pianos have. On this Mason it is a 1 1/2 inch rise over 4 feet.

In conclusion, I feel it would be unwise to not replace this board. If it is not replaced, I will not attempt to recap the bridges, but rather recondition them. Are the financial savings worth the risk of failure? I think not.

Baldwin F #147009 Tear Down

2009-08-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

For the second time this week I find myself tearing down a piano. This one thankfully happened in my shop. It is a sub-contract job, and will include new soundboard, new pinblock and new strings with some other minor repairs. With these two rebuilding projects going and also a heavier tuning schedule (I start Messiah College next week- about 35 tunings) the next weeks and months will prove to be very busy.

ESU M&H BB Tear Down

2009-08-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

Today I was joined by fellow technicians Chris Soliday and Greg Graham in tearing down the Mason and Hamlin at E. Stroudsburg University. The piano needs to be top ended to fit in the elevator, which is an almost possible task as the piano is very heavy when in one piece. The solution- disassemble the piano in the classroom and put it on the elevator in pieces. As a result, the three of us fairly easily handled the piano and got it into the elevator. This will mean that I will need to string the piano in the class room when it is returned. That will probably take a little more time than tearing down!

Kawai GS40 Completed

2009-08-04T14:15:00.000-07:00

Today I was able to complete the work on the GS40. The bass strings finally arrive last Friday. After they were installed, the remaining dampers were installed and regulated. The final step was reinstalling the case parts that were removed to accommodate removal of the plate. The action was regulated several weeks ago, so now all that needs to be done before delivery is several more tunings as the strings stretch and settle into pitch.

Kawai GS40 Action Work

2009-07-24T13:50:00.000-07:00

As I am still waiting for the bass strings on the Kawai, I am proceeding with the action work. Yesterday I prepped the new hammers for installation. This included boring, and tail shaping. Today I installed the new hammers, and regulated the action. I also installed the damper heads in the treble section and tuned the piano three times to bring it up to pitch. As soon as my bass strings arrive, I will be able finish up the remainder of the work.

FCM Week

2009-07-17T05:05:00.002-07:00

Posts have been scarce this week as I attend the Fellowship of Christian Magicians Conference in Marion IN. It has been a wonderful week of learning and networking. You can follow more of what I did on Facebook. I'd be happy to be your friend. Next Monday I will be spending the day At Knoebles Park with some friends and some of my grandchildren. So I won't be back in the shop until Tuesday. Above are some pictures of the campus.

FCM Week

2009-07-17T05:05:00.001-07:00

MI Swingers!

2009-07-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

Attending FCM

2009-07-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

This week finds me out of the shop as I attend the FCM Conference (Fellowship of Christian Magicians) at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion IL. No, I am not a Magician, but a ventriloquist and storyteller. These are skills that i am developing to better minister to kids at my church. Weekly Rosanna and I give leadership to UpStreet at McBIC. This requires me to be in front of kids weekly for our large group time. There is nothing more rewarding then teaching kids that Jesus loves them, and helping them apply these lessons to their life. So learning to do this more effectively is a priority in my life.

Last evening was spent at my son's house in MI. The pictures show my three MI grandkids performing for grandpa. (Pictures to follow. Slow internet connection.

GS 40 Stringing Begun

2009-07-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

Today I installed the plain steel strings on the Kawai piano. Not all of the string are of the same diameter. The heaviest plain steel strings are .042". The lightest is .032".The length and diameter of the string is called the scale of the piano. This is designed by the piano manufacturer, and is typically not changed. The exception is on some poor quality old pianos, there can sometimes be an improvement in the sound of the piano by changing the scale. For significant changes, the bridges must also be redesigned, and this is not feasible in a poor quality piano. The most common change is to add several wound strings in the tenor section at the tenor/bass break. These notes in a poor quality small grand piano are often improved by adding wound string instead of the original plain steel strings.

I am not able to finish the string installation as I am waiting for the bass strings to arrive. These strings have copper wire wound over the plain steel core wire, and need to be custom made by a bass string maker. This piano has 39 wound bass strings.

GS 40 Coming Back Together

2009-07-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

The necessary repairs have been made to the soundboard and pinblock, the soundboard has had a coat of finish, and the plate is cleaned, and the hardware polished. Having accomplished that, I reinstalled the plate in the piano. The ordered parts are to arrive tomorrow, and I hope to begin putting the new strings on on Friday. I am hoping to have the piano mostly strung before I leave for a week of vacation next week.

Kawai GS40 Work Progresses

2009-07-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

The pictures show the Kawai piano fully disassembled. The pinblock and plate have been removed, and the the action disassembled. The final picture shows some of the most evident water damage in the high treble area of the piano. The treble edge of the soundboard had begun to come loose from the liner, and needed to be reglues. The pinblock will be reglued when it is reinstalled in the piano. Other preparation work for reassembly include cleaning the plate and soundboard, removing the old hammers and damper felts, and reconditioning the damper back action assembly. Bass strings, tuning pins, hammers and stringing felt have been ordered and need to arrive before finishing work can proceed.

New Project- Kawai GS40

2009-07-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

Pianos and water don't mix well. Felt hardens and looses it's elasticity when it gets wet. Glue joints weaken, and music wire rusts. So when a roof leaks directly above a piano, severe damage can be the result. This is the story of the Kawai GS40 that I am presently working on. Thanks to modern glues and finishes that are water resistant, the damage was not as severe as it might have been, but it was still substantial. It will require new strings, damper felts, and hammers. A small portion of the pinblock and soundboard will need to be re-secured. The picture show the piano being disassembled.

Enjoying The Harp

2009-07-01T12:11:00.000-07:00

Now that my first harp is completed, my daughter and granddaughter are enjoying learning to play (I am learning too). I already have purchased the plans to build a larger five octave harp. My progress is going to be slowed down by a number of piano rebuilding jobs that will soon be beginning. But it is still fun to dream and plan. It is sometimes a shame that one needs to be gainfully employed to pay the bills!

Steinway A1 Bridge Work

2009-06-27T11:23:00.000-07:00

Recapping piano bridges is very exacting work. It is important that they are accurately duplicated, and that the wood joints are perfect. I use .030" Lexan to make patterns from the existing bridges. The first step is to remove the old bridge pins. This is done by gripping them with a Vise Grip and twisting and pulling upward until the pin surrenders it's place in the bridge. The Lexan can now be place on top of the bridges and indexed by drilling a hole through the Lexan and bridge body- all the way through. The using an awl, I indent the Lexan at every bridge pin, and finally, drill a hole through the Lexan into the vacant bridge pin holes. When this is completed, the caps are cut off on the band saw.

Next the bridge pin holes in the bridge body are fill with wood dowels. After the glue has dried, the tops of the bridge body is planed to just where all the old bridge cap is removed. Now we can lay out the new caps, by tracing the cut off caps. Care must be taken especially at the section joints for a tight fit. Lastly the caps are glued to the bridge body. I prefer Bolduc acoustic glue, as it is very heat resistant, and will not clog the drill bit when drilling the new pin hole. At this point, the bridge should be thicker than the the original, as when setting the bearing, we want to be able to remove material to obtain the desired bearing.

Steinway A1 Soundboard Pressed

2009-06-22T13:23:00.000-07:00

After the ribs are indexed. I prepare them for gluing onto the soundboard. The cut outs for the reliefs in the ribs were saved and used as cauls for pressing the ribs. They are taped to the rib from where they were removed, and a hole is drilled through the indexing hole into the caul. a #7 bridge pin is inserted into the caul through the indexing hole, being left to protrude about 1/8". The ribs can then be dry-fitted onto the new panel, inserting the pins in the hole that were indexed into the new panel. Line are drawn to mark the location of the ribs before they are removed. the panel is now sealed in shellac everywhere but where glue will be applied. The original soundboard is used to set up the press for pressing the new board. When the panel has been brought down to 5% EMC, it is ready to be pressed. The press uses 100 PSI air pressure to clamp the ribs to the spruce panel. They are glues one at a time. Great care is taken to be sure that the ribs are placed in their indexing hole before pressure is applied to the rib. The whole process takes about 5" per rib. The loaded press is exerting about 15 tons of pressure on the soundboard.

Steinway A1 Rib Indexing

2009-06-19T05:34:00.000-07:00

After the panel is shaped to fit snugly into the rim, the new panel must be indexed as I use the old panel as a pattern for drilling all holes in the new panel and for locating the ribs. I drill a hole in the end if each rib, through the rib and into the rim. Also, three locator holes were drilled through the old board into the rim before the old board was removed. After the holes were drilled, .086 dia. bridge pins are inserted with about 1/8" protruding from the top. The new fitted panel is then placed into the piano, and pressed down on the locator pins to index the new board panel. The old board is then placed on top of the new panel, and the locator holes are joined with a bridge pin. Now I can transfer all the hole from the old board into the new. When it is time to glue the ribs onto the new panel, the rib indexing holes are also aligned with a bridge pin.

Steinway A1 Soundboard Panel Cut and Fit

2009-06-17T14:07:00.000-07:00

After the ribs are shaped and fit into the rim, the next step is to cut the new board panel, and fit it precisely into the rim of the piano. I purchase Eastern White Spruce panels already glued up, sanded to thickness, and slightly oversized. The old panel is used as a pattern to match the grain angle. The shape is traced onto the new panel, and the new panel is again cut slightly oversized. Now I will hand fit the panel into the piano as perfectly as possible, marking and removing material along the edges of the panel. This is rather tricky because of the shape of the rim being numerous curves and only one straight side. I plane the straight side to match the straight side of the rim first, then proceed to mark and sand areas that need material removed until the panel fits into the rim shelf.

Harp Project Completed

2009-06-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

After the neck finish cured, I rubbed the entire neck and sound chamber with steel wool and wax to give the harp a satin patina. The holes were drilled to receive the guide pins and tuning pins. I chose to use piano tuning pins rather than the harpsichord pins supplied with the hardware. Installing the nylon strings was a bit different than music wire. Tuning the new strings and adding tension to the soundboard is some what frightening. Will my board design withstand the tension? Time will tell, but so far it is holding, although it has bowed upwards about 1/8" in the center. I am having a bit of trouble with the knots at the end if the strings sliding. I applied a drop of super glue to the knots and hopefully that will stop the sliding. The tuning pins require a fair amount of strength to move, but I am sure they will loosen up with time and use. I hope to take the harp and my grand daughter to meet the Cumberland Valley Harp Circle this Sunday.

Grandma and Grandpa Camp 2009

2009-06-08T18:03:00.000-07:00

GRANDMA'S FAVORITE SPOT ALONG THE CREEK

OUR CABIN

Tomorrow morning we leave to travel to MI to pick up three of our grandchildren, Andrew, Anna and Ava.. They will be joining their two cousins, Benjamin and Kara on our return trip on Wednesday afternoon. Our headquarters for the week will be at our cabin at Roxbury PA. There is lots to do there- wading in the creek, bike riding, campfires and lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa. On Thursday we plan a day trip to Pine Grove Furnace State Park for swimming, hiking and a picnic. On Friday we will head to Chambersburg to visit the Gibbles Chip factory and to visit Great Grandma Wingert. Saturday afternoon we will return home to meet up with everyones parents. Greg and Beth will be traveling here to pick up their children so we don't have to make a return trip to MI.

Steinway A Soundboard Begun

2009-06-05T12:48:00.000-07:00

ROUGH RIBS CHOSEN FOR LENGTH AND SPECIES

RUBS CUT TO WIDTH, BEING FITTED IN RIM NOTCHES

COMPLETED RIBS DRY FIT IN PIANO

This week I began building the soundboard for my Steinway grand. The foundation for the new soundboard is the ribs, so that is where we begin. Using the old soundboard as a pattern, rib stock is choose by length, grain density and wood species. Three wood species are generally used. Those being Sitka Spruce, Eastern White Spruce, and Sugar Pine. The Sitka Spruce is the most dense and has the tightest grain pattern, but it is also harder to work. The Eastern White Spruce is a bit lighter than the Sitka, and is generally easier to work. The Sugar Pine is even lighter and softer, and very easy to work. There are different theories as to which wood is better. Sometimes different species are used in the same board. Generally the theory is that the tighter heavier wood will give more reflective resonance in the high notes, and the lighter Sugar Pine gives the middle of the board more flexibility, and that the end of the board needs a little more strength due to the double bridge load in that section. That is how I configured this board. Does it make a difference? It's hard to say.

After the rough ribs are chosen, they need to be cut to length, width and height. I cut the width first, length next, and finally the thickness after a crown is cut unto the rib. Finally the end cutouts are band sawed and sanded as per the original board. Each rib is individually fitted into the notch in the liner with very close tolerances. This will assure me of a very solid foundation that I can build the remaining board and bridge structure upon.

Harp Neck Finish

2009-06-03T13:37:00.000-07:00

Today I hope to complete spraying lacquer on the harp neck assembly. After the lacquer hardens a few days, I will be able to rub it with steel wool and wax, and then drill the holes for the guide pins and the tuning pins. Then I will mate the sound box and the neck assembly. The final step is to install the strings and tuning.

Steinway A Case Work Begins

2009-06-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

I have begun the case repairs on the Steinway. There is a lot of damage from rough handling by the previous owner, and by sloppy work from the previous rebuilder. There is so much craftsmanship that can be done well or poorly that the customer never sees. I have learned a long time ago that you can't be a high end rebuilder and be cheap. If a client buys a "cheap" job, that is what they are going to get. It may not be evident to the untrained eye, but the player will hear and feel the difference between excellent craftsmanship and a poor craftsmanship. You get what you pay for is very true in piano rebuilding. If the price is cheap, the end result will be cheap. A cheap price for high quality work is call bankruptcy.

Steinway A-Rim Cleaning

2009-05-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

After the soundboard is "broken" out of the piano, the rim must be cleaned to remove glue and soundboard residue. The first job is to remove as much of the spruce wood fiber as possible without damaging or nicking the rim. This is done with a very sharp chisel. Next, the old glue residue must be removed. This is done by soaking the rim with a solution of wall paper remover and water. The rim is wet down several times and left to soak for about 30 minutes. As the glue softens, it can be scraped off the hard maple rim fairly easily, but care must still be taken not to gouge the rim. Finally the rim is wiped with a soft cloth to soak up any lingering water and loose reside. If per chance the previous sound board installer did not use a water soluble glue, that task is much more difficult, requiring the use of abrasives. In this case, the soundboard was installed about 25 years ago in an unknown rebuilder's shop. It appears that they used a white glue, which does soften when soaked in water. The ideal glue for gluing the soundboard to the rim is hide glue, because it is very easy to remove when soaked in water, but is extremely hard when dry.

Harp Pillar and Neck United

2009-05-25T13:21:00.001-07:00

I've taken advantage of the holiday to spend some time working on my harp project. At the end of last week I glued the top to the sound chamber. Today, I fist dry fitted the neck and pillar to the sound chamber. Upon doing so, I realized that my string speaking length was about 3/8" to long, so I made the necessary adjustments to get the length to spec. I accomplished this by cutting the neck deeper where it attaches to the sound chamber, and also by shortening the pillar. While this was happening, I have been spraying lacquer on the sound chamber. Today I also ordered a round embossed applique to place on the neck. Finally, I glued a build up on the end of the neck that rests on the top of the sound chamber.It's starting to look like a harp!

Steinway A Case Stripped

2009-05-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

Removing finish from a piano case has to be the worst job related to piano rebuilding. This old Steinway was refinished about 25 years ago, and was in bad shape because of some rough treatment in a school. I think the former refinisher figured you could hid a lot of defects with a lot of lacquer. And this case has LOTS of lacquer. It was one of the most difficult cases that I have stripped. What I found underneath was disappointing. Most of the veneer on the top of the rim and the cheeks was removed and not replaced, and corners were rounded excessively. Add to this the damage done at the school, and you have a project that is going to take a lot of veneer and case work to prepare it for the new finish. Because of it's age and the condition of the case parts, I plan to replace the legs, lyre, lid, music desk and key slip. These parts are available through Steinway or Vintage Case Parts.

Steinway A I Tear Down

2009-05-20T13:44:00.000-07:00

The project that I had hoped to be working on this week has been postponed a few weeks, so I decided to tear down my Steinway A spec piano. This piano was rebuilt about 25 years ago to standards that were lower than the standard that I keep. So I will probably replace the soundboard, bridge caps and pinblock. None of these are extremely bad, but the piano did not perform at it's potential. Also there is a lot of case repairs that need to be done. So measurements were taken, and the strings were removed, along with the tuning pins and plate. I will work on repairing the damaged case next.

Harp Pillar and Neck.

2009-05-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

Neck being veneered

NECK and PILLAR with patterns

Since I am still between piano rebuilding jobs, I continue to make good progress on my harp project. Using my patterns, I cut the pieces for the neck and the pillar. since the neck will receive the tuning pins and the guide pins,and possibly in the future sharping levers, I chose to us delignet piano pinblock material for it's construction. This is probably a little bit of overkill, but I happened to have a scrap around that wasn't big enough for a piano, but was big enough for a harp. I veneered the sides of the neck with walnut veneer, but plan to let the edges exposed. This will make a nice color contrast, and I think the multi layers of beech wood in delignet looks cool. The pillar is constructed from a piece of walnut that is about 1 5/8" thick. I have also cut out the top for the sound chamber where the neck will rest. It will soon look like a harp!

Puppet shows

2009-05-16T14:46:00.000-07:00

This has been a busy weekend with two puppet shows. On Thursday evening we attended our grandson's preschool graduation. I was honored to be asked to do a puppet show for the event. The skit was entitled "I don't know my ABC's, and was a lot of fun presenting to the preschool age kids present and their families. This morning I did a 40 minute presentation at Camp Hebron for the children of Slate hill Mennonite Church at their annual family retreat weekend. This went well and was a great group of kids. I'm glad for these opportunities to preform and to sharpen my venting skills.

Puppets- Back Stage

2009-05-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

I spent a portion of the day dress rehearsing for this weekends programs. Backstage in puppetland is rather amusing. I need to keep all my puppets handy, but out of sight. Tonight I will be doing a short program for McBIC's Preschool Graduation, and on Saturday I will be performing at Camp Hebron for a group of children. I would appreciate your prayers!

Harp Soundboard Glued To Sound Box

2009-05-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

Completed sound box.
When I was ready to glue the soundboard to the sound box, I intended to use my pneumatic press. The box is too thick for my press, so I needed to use bar clamps. I still used the pneumatic press for a base for clamping up the soundboard. Note that the soundboard loner also has brass screws securing it to the box. This assures me that the soundboard will not come off the box when the harp is under tension.

Harp Soundboard Trim

2009-05-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

Trim piece being glued on top side of board.

The underside of the soundboard and reinforcement bar coated with lacquer.

After gluing the reinforcement bars in place, the final step on the soundboard was to install trim pieces on the edges of the board. These serve two purposes. One is cosmetic. I used walnut for the trim pieces because it is a pretty contrast in color to the spruce. Secondly, the trim pieces are similar to the bind bar in the piano. The glue surface is narrow, and the trim pieces add strength and a reflective quality to the edge of the soundboard. Screws will also be used to secure the soundboard to the sound box.

Harp Soundboard Reinforcement Bars

2009-05-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

Since my harp soundboard is made of solid spruce, it will require some reinforcing bars. I have added two, one on top and one on the underside of the harp. The underside bar of maple, and is tapered in width as well as in thickness, being the thickest and widest at the bottom. The top is an exact match, but is made of walnut for cosmetic purposes. One of my innovations (this is not customary harp building) was to attach two spruce ribs to the top reinforcing bar. This is a take off from my piano soundboard building. Note that on a piano the ribs are on the under side, while on the harp, I placed them on the top side. This is because on a piano the pressure of the string are pushing down, but on the harp, the pressure of the strings are pulling up. The purpose of the ribs is to produce an internal stress on the soundboard that in turn produces a slight crown. The theory is that this enhances the sound produced by the board. It works in pianos. We'll see if it works in harps. The first photo is gluing the ribs to the top reinforcing bar. The second is gluing the reinforcement bars to the soundboard in my piano soundboard press. Note that the soundboard was dried to 5.5% EMC before the reinforcement bars were glued. This is an important matter that is often overlooked, as the soundboard does change dimensionally as the wood dries (more piano influence on my harp).

Mothers Day 2009

2009-05-10T14:57:00.000-07:00

Rosanna and I had the delight of being at our daughters house for the noon meal on Mothers Day. Our two daughters were there with their families. It is always a delight to be together. It was a beautiful day to take a few pictures outside by some beautiful flowers. Our son in Michigan sent Rosanna a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Thanks to you all for making mom feel special on her special day.