Back on blog

Wow, It's been almost a year since I have posted anything about shop happenings. That is partly because there hasn't been a lot of shop activity the past year. But that is changing, as I have several project in progress. I will soon be highlighting a Steinway D #411101 that has just begun, and will be a total restoration and refinishing.

Steinway O Strung

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

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

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

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

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.