Steinway D 411101 Bridge Removal

After the soundboard is removed from the piano, I prepare it for use in duplicating it onto the new soundboard. This requires removing the bridges and also doing some superglue repairs to the old board as it is literally "broken" out of the piano. Especially in Steinway pianos I am very careful to accuratly duplicate the original soundboard (minus factory errors) so that it becomes a genuine duplication of the original.

PIANO RIM AND BRACING VISIBLE WITH SOUNDBOARD REMOVED

BRIDGES REMOVED FROM ORIGINAL SOUNDBOARD

Steinway D #411101 Restoration

I have recently begun a major restoration of a nine foot Steinway concert grand piano. This is a total restoration including a new soundboard and refinishing. The pictures show the varios stages oftear down.

Soundboard removed

Pinblock removed

Plate removed

Strings removed

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.

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.

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.

Steinway A Veneering Complete

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.

Mason BB Returned to ESU

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

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

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.

Baldwin F Strung

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

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.

Soundboards Glued In Pianos

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.

Bridges Glued To Soundboard

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.