Piano Rebuilding-Stringing- Sustain Time

barry — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 11:07:47 +0000

I had a reader ask me if when stringing another piano could I show how long the tone would sustain. When rebuilder check a sounding board old or new ( with no plate or strings) they will tap on the bridge with there fist and listen to the length of the tone. This can give the technician an idea of the quality of the sounding board and the piano.

Piano Restoration- Drilling the Pin Block

barry — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:56:16 +0000

In this procedure the pinblock has already been fitted to the plate and screw holes and tuning pin holes have been marked. The pinblock is placed on a fastener that gives it a 7-10 degree angle to the tuning pin, so the pin is pulling back. I use a 15/64 bit that is the size need for a 2/0 tuning pin. Some techs use different size bits depending on what type of pinblock material you are using. Pinblock material comes in different thicknesses and the amount of maple Lamentations. As we drill the tuning pin holes we stay aware of the correct speed of the bit traveling in the material, not to fast, not to slow. After the block is completely drilled out the block is removed from the fastener and lightly sanded and now begin fitting it into the piano.

Piano Stringing- Part 1

barry — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:55:59 +0000

The pinblock is installed, the palte and soundingboard has be completed and installed. When we take the piano apart we take the scale of the piano, the scale is the different diameters of steel wire and these different diameters are grouped in sections or number of unisions. Like 4 then 4 then 6 and so on.

Piano Stringing – Part 2

barry — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 17:58:28 +0000

The strings are conected to tuning pins, a tuning pin has a very fine thread and about a half inch down a hole called the beckit. The beckit is the hole in the pin that the string goes through, then a tight turn and wind the string around the pin two and a half times, the you drive it in the pin block. The string then travels either trough a agraff or under a V- Bar, over the bridge and to the Hitch pin, around and back to another pin. Next you turn the pin tighten the string. As you turn the string it creates a coil around the pin, you pull that up good and tight, onto the next one.

Rebuiding and Restoration- Installing the pinblock part 1

barry — Fri, 27 May 2011 05:18:23 +0000

We have completed rebronzing the plate, the pinblock has been drilled and cut and planned to fit the case . Now we need to put the plate in the piano and dry fit the pinblock with the plate in the piano, we only use a select few bolts in the piano and screws in the pinblock to get a test fit. After the plate is lowered into the piano, the bolt and screws are tighten down to get a good read on the measurements. Like at the capo bar at note 88( this is a V bar the string pass under to the tuning pin)also the plate height from the shoulder. The goal we are wanting to get the plate back in it’s oringinal position. the video will show how we get the plate in the piano.

Piano Tuning – Loose Tuning Pins

barry — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 15:34:06 +0000

Recently I was tuning a little spinet, I first got to the piano and noticed that the pitch was a half step low and the tuning pins weren’t to bad, but not as tight as I would like,especially doing a pitch raise. Let’s take a step back for a minute, Tuning pins are what the piano wire is attached to, tuning pins are made of steel and have very thin threads. The tuning pins go threw the plate into the pinblock, the pinblock is maple wood that is laminated in various amounts of lamination’s. The tightness of the tuning pins in the pinblock allow the piano to be tuned and hold tuning. The most important part I feel in the piano, it is the heart and where I start. Now, back to the loose tuning pins, I discuss the situation with the client, She says” this is a family piano that was given to me and I grew up playing it, do what will make it Right.” In this case that was driving the tuning pins in deeper in the pinblock and then begin to pitch raise the piano increasing the string tension over the whole piano. After the tension is at the proper level to get A440, then the piano gets a regular close tuning at A440. This piano was able to be taken care of in the home and was good for the customer, that is not always the case. In the piano industry,technicians will not normally work on or rebuild a Spinet,Console, Studio or Upright. Grand pianos are different you can remove the plate and put in a New Pinblock. With these Four Kinds of uprights we don’t really have that choice, our choices are like above, drive the pins, second choice is to repin with oversize tuning pins( rule of thump two sizes larger). Other than that generally these pianos don’t have the financial value to warrant the work.That changes with sentimental value, I have taken old Uprights and put a new pinblock in the piano, it’s a lot of extra work but can be done for the customer’s sake. I have rebuilt pianos like this so they function and the customer also bought a new piano to have. So if you are sentimental over great granny’s upright from the 1900′s or grand. Maybe Mom gave you the piano you learned to play on, take it, use it, let your family enjoy it, whether a spinet or console or old upright, our job as piano technicians is to make it work for you as an instrument the best we can. You don’t have to trade in grandma’s piano and get a digital keyboard. Enjoy your piano and the music it gives you!

Piano Tuning – Concert Tuning Can Be More

barry — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:22:29 +0000

Last week I was scheluded for a concert tuning downtown in Richmond, Virginia at a hall called the National. The artist requested a 9 foot Steinway & Sons concert grand. The event location had one brought in and I was scheluded for the first tuning just after it arrived. What a joy to tune a Steinway concert grand and this piano was fairly new. So I got there and started tuning the piano for the concert. During the tuning have some damper problems appearing here and there but nothing serious. So I left and went on with the rest of my tuning day and was to return for a 6 o’clock tuning right before the performance. I get a call; that there is problems with the piano can I come back earlier to work on it. They have had the sound check when I get there, and the artist still doing some checking. I notice as I get started that the damper issues seem more serious making It to hard to tune. I look, I then pull the action out, thing I need to regulate, still checking dampers lifting, when I notice the damper tray is loose on the treble side, Completely and moving back and forth. I get the block back in place and screw it down after attaching tray( I am supposed to be tuning) put the action back continue tuning but still having damper issues. Having to pull the action out and regulate dampers, Now the audience is arriving and coming up to the stage. I pulling the action out and putting it back and regulating dampers to get them all to work correctly, telling the artist’s stage manager” We’ll give them a real show, working on the piano”. Finally the stage manager and myself agree that the piano is correct for the artist, I pack up and leave the piano ready for the concert

Restoration- Pinblock Installation- Pt 2

barry — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:04:38 +0000

In our last blog on pinblock installation,we discussed fitting the pinblock to the plate. Now that is done, we take the pinblock and install it on a fastener to prepare to drill out the tuning pin hole. The fastener that the pinblock is bolted to gives it a seven degree angle back to create more tension on the string. The fastener also adds a place for the drill to come to and make a cleaner hole on the bottom. For drilling out the hole we use a drill bit to make the hole tight enough for a 2/0 pin( all new pianos have 2/0 pianos) this is where we start with pin size. The drill is set at about 3000 rpms and care is taken with the feed of the bit, we also have a vac hose collecting debris at the bit and drawing air around to help keep cool. Some tech might have the compressor blowing air on the bit. The pinblock is drilled, then removed and lightly sanded to remove the little roughness and is now ready to install in the piano.

Rebuilding or Restoration

barry — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 04:06:20 +0000

These words take a huge definition of what they mean. I know other technicians and myself have heard, ” We had this piano rebuilt 10 years ago” or ” Our Steinway has be completely Restored”. And we are looking at the piano trying to find out what was done, if anything. People throw these words around and the customer has no idea what amount of work is being talked about. To me, rebuilding a piano could be re-pinning with oversize pins to doing the sounding board,new pinblock,restringing, action work. The word that makes the biggest differences is, TOTAL rebuilding or restoration,that means everything but the Plate and the case will be replaced, new sounding board,new action,new strings,etc. Of course if you have any of this type of work done the shop or technician will give the customer a contract that will itemize the work to be done. So listen carefully and have it explained.

Rebuiding Pianos – PinBlock Installion

barry — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 05:52:16 +0000

Here we can see the flange on the plate has been chalked so that when you place the pinblock to it and hit the pinblock, the chalk marks the pinblock and then we sand those marks and continue this process untill the pinblock fits the plate. The next step would be to mark and drill the screw holes, then use sample screws to do atest tighten to the plate and then mark the tuning pin holes