Steinway S 334968 Completed

The Steinway returned from the refinishers several weeks ago. I have been working hard to get the project completed before Christmas. Today was to be a snowy day, so I canceled my tunings for the day and instead have been in the shop, and have completed the project.

Piano being strung after returning from Refinisher

Completed!

Steinway S Final Soundboard Work

Completed bridges installed on new soundboard.

Radius' cut on rib tops.

Ribs sanded

Final finish applied to soundboard bottom.

Completed soundboard glued into piano rim. Tomorrow I will add trim pieces to the top of the board, and apply the final finish. The piano will then be ready to send to the refinisher.

Steinway S 334968 Bridge Work

A lot of time has been spent recapping the bridges. First the old tops of the bridge are cut off, and new caps are clues to the original bridge body. Then the bridges must be aet to their proper height. This is called setting the bearing. Then the new caps must be planed to their proper thickness, and finally the notches and pins need to be added.

New Bridge Caps Installed

Setting Bearing

Planing Bridge tops

Notching Bridge Caps

Completed Bridges, Ready to Glue Onto Soundboard.

Steinway S 334968 Soundboard pressed

Steinway S #334968 Soundboard Ribs

The soundboard ribs are notched into the shelf of the rim where the completed soundboard will be glued. I take great care in individually fitting each rib to the piano rim shelf. The ribs are also dimensioned to the proper width and thickness. When this is completed, they are indexed and prepared for gluing onto the spruce panel.

Steinway S #334968 A Soundboard is Born

A new soundboard begins with 13-18 pieces of quarter sawn Sitka Spruce from North West USA. These thin strips of wood begin at aprox. 1/2" thickness, and need to be edge glued to form a sheet of spruce that will become a soundboard.I start with gluing up 2-3 pieces that become about 12" in width. I end up with about 5-6 of these pieces.

After the glue has cured, I plane these to the desired end thickness, in this case 5/16". These 12" pieces are edge glued together until the full sheet is completed.

Then, the old soundboard is used as a pattern to select the proper grain angle, and an outline is traced so that the new board can be cut to it's shape. The fresh glue joints are sanded to remove any squeeze out and to smooth any slight unevenness. A new soundboard panel has been created.

Steinway S 334968 Board and Block Out

Removing the old soundboard has further revealed that at some time in the past this piano was subject to very high humidity, as the glue joints are all loose. This makes for easy removal, and verifies the fact that the old board is beyond repair. Also removed was the pinblock, and the bridges .

Steinway S 334968

I have recently begun a total rebuild of a Steinway model S. This project will include a total remanufacture including refinishing.

After the dampers are removed, lots of measurements are taken and recorded before the strings and tuning pins are removed. Finally the cast iron plate is removed.

Meet my grandson Benjamin

I was excited today to have my grandson help me with real piano work for the first time. He has been in my shop before, but never to do real piano work. His first job...installing bridle straps in a spinet action. He later helped me install a humidity control system in a grand piano. He is a very quick learner, and knows how to handle a screwdriver! He also had the experience of cutting some metal rods with a hack saw. Grandpa had to help a bit with that. I'm sure there will be more projects in the near future that Benjamin can help with.

Steinway D 411101

The Model D Steinway returned from the refinisher two weeks ago. This is about a month later than I anticipated. But excellent work is worth waiting for. The satin ebony finish is beautiful. Since then, the piano has been strung and the damper work has been completed. I am now in the process of restoring the action. I typically wait to do the action work until after I have the piano strung and the dampers installed. I use the old action to tune the piano multiple time to get it up to pitch,and this allows the piano to begin settling in while I do the action work.

At the top, the key frame and action frame are stripped of the old parts, cleaned and ready for installation of new parts. Center, the keys have the old tops removed. New key bushings are also to be installed. The old key leads must also be removed in preparation of installing Precision Touch Design. Bottom, Refinished piano with new strings and Damper system.

Steinway M 252119 Strung, Dampers Installed, Piano Completed

After multiple tunings and action and damper regulation this piano is ready to be returned to it's owner.

Steinway M 252119 Plate and Soundboard Top Finish Applied

Steinway M 252119 Soundboard Installed

Steinway M 252119 Bridges Glued to New Board

My soundboard press doubles as a bridge gluing press.

Steinway M 252119 Bridges Recapped

Steinway M 252119 pinblock fit and installed

When installing a new pinblock, it is necessary to fit the block not only to the plate, but also into the piano. A Steinway pinblock is a full fit, which means it must be the exact size to fit in the piano, tight on both sides and tight to the stretcher. The original pinblock is used as a pattern for cutting the new pinblock from a blank panel, and for determining the starting thickness. After cutting the blank it needs to be fit to the plate. I fit the pinblock not only to the face of the plate, but also to the web of the plate. When the pinblock has been fit to the plate, it is ready to be fit into the rim of the piano. With the pinblock attached to the plate, the plate must also be set to the correct height and location front to back, and side to side. Now that the pinblock is fit and installed, I can proceed with the bridge work.