Steinway O 169690 Soundboard removed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.