Having the right tool at the right time can make all the difference.   The video below shows the use of a cute miniature detail plane, to make a repair on a key prior to installing a new keytop.

The photos below show my work of yesterday on a customer’s keys. These are from a 1950’s Gulbransen spinet piano.
Before

After

Its time for a new project. This is a 5′ 8″ Knabe Grand which was originally manufactured in 1919 (Serial Number 87958). I’ve had it in the shop for some time, and have enjoyed playing it as is … but it will be wonderful in a few months! Based on my current evaluation of the piano, I anticipate doing the following:

• Repair Bridge
• Replace Bridge Pins
• Re-guild Plate
• Clean Soundboard
• Replace Agraffes
• Re-String
• Shape Hammers
• Replace Dampers
• Recondition Action
• Replace keytops
• Rebush keys
• Repair Pedal Lyre
• Refinish case

This piano was once a player piano, but the mechanism is long gone.   Unlike some other manufacturers, this player was placed on a standard size case … so the 5′ 8″ piano has the same string lengths as 5′ 8″ Knabes without the player mechanism.

1919 Knabe – “Before” Pictures — Click on the photo to see more pictures.

This 45-inch studio upright piano was manufactured by Winter and Company in 1957.

I have performed the following on this piano to recondition it for sale:

• Re-bushed keys. This is an important reconditioning step, which helps to make the key action feel like new.
• Re-shaped hammers. This helps to develop the consistent, warm tone you will hear in this piano.
• Performed a full regulation. This gives the pianist the ability to express the full potential of the piano with ease.
• Tuned to concert pitch.
• Repaired case damage and applied a black satin finish of “family-room quality”. On inspection, you’ll see it is not showroom quality, but as a result the price is nice.

This piano is an excellent purchase for a piano student. Perhaps one who has out-grown the electronic keyboard that was purchased when piano lessons were begun. I invite you to compare it as a musical instrument to everything in its price range. Someone is going to get a deal! This is a sweet piano to play.

The sale includes:
- New bench.
- One free in-home tuning.
- Free “normal delivery” in Davis or Weber Counties. (No difficult turns, 4 or fewer steps to go up or down)

Price: $880.00

Shown by appointment.

Utah State sales tax will be assessed on purchase.

This Winter studio upright piano is starting to come back to life in my shop. Starting in 1957, it was a school piano. When I bought it, the case was really banged up, but the piano itself had been well maintained. From notes in the piano, it appears that it got new hammers in the ’80s. And the lack of wear indicates that it’s had an easy life these past 30 years. I gave it a new black lacquer finish of “family room quality” — not showroom quality. I’m pleased with the looks. Next up are new keytops and key bushings. After completing the keytops, bushings, and regulation, this will be a great family piano.

The Howard Baldwin which I reconditioned has been sold and delivered. I returned to the home in Layton recently for a second tuning, and snapped these photos:

It’s a nice little piano, and my customer is very happy with it. It’s a good size for her space, and its size works well for the chamber music she performs.

The Howard Baldwin keys had “pulley” keys. “Pulley” is a strange term which basically means you can pull on the key and it will have some front to back play. The result is an uneven key line at the key slip, and the slop in the action will be evident to the pianist.

I chose to repair the condition with veneer inlays at the rear of the key hole. The job took a couple of hours, and I judge the result to be excellent. The photos below show a new, properly round hole. The veneer inlays happen to be walnut, but for 6 cubic mm of material, any hardwood would do. The walnut was just handy in the wood rack.

The plate has been re-installed in the piano, and agraffes have been aligned.

The plate is re-installed. In this photo, I've aligned agraffes, but a few in the top of the tenor section still need to be aligned.

Aligning Agraffes

It was a pleasure to relieve this fine old piano of its years of dust and grime. The soundboard finish was shellac, and as such the old finish was easy to remove with alcohol. Revealed was the beautiful blond of tight grained spruce.

Now it doesn't look much like the great dust bowl!

The refinished plate

As purchased, this piano had tuning pins which were generally tight, but with a few that were questionable. The piano was tunable, and in fairly good tune. The strings themselves were terribly rusty and absolutely needed replacement. The bass response was very poor as the copper wound strings were full of corrosion and dirt.

At this point the strings and tuning pins have been removed in preparation for re-stringing. Photos below show the current state of reconditioning. There’s enough dust on the sound board to create the next Great Dust Bowl!

Howard Baldwin Baby Grand - Re-stringing Step One

The soundboard: The next Great Dust Bowl!