Chickering Ampico Reproducing Piano
I wasn't looking for it. It found me. Last week a Chickering Ampico reproducing piano followed me
Category: Shop Work
1915 Hamilton Baldwin Player Piano Restoration G Case
With the player complete, the final step in this project was to make repairs to the case. Following
Hamilton Player Piano Restoration: Bellows
We reached another milestone with this player piano! After the restored bellows and reservoir were
Hamilton Player Piano Restoration: Stack
Seeing this player come to life has been a bunch of fun (not to mention a big relief). One of the
A Piano Finds a Home: My Home!
A Steinway model O from 1909 is at home.
Hamilton Player Piano Restoration: Transmission
I began the rebuild of the player with the transmission. In traditional player pianos, the
Hamilton Player Piano Restoration: Stack Test
Playing the stack from vacuum source Your browser does not support the video
Hamilton Player Piano Restoration: Part one done
After hundreds of hours, it is very pleasing to look at the work and listen to the result. The
Upright Piano Pinblock Inserts
A strong, well-built pinblock is essential to the longevity (and tune-ability) of any piano. Often
Hamilton Player Piano Restoration: Keys
It's not really possible to overstate the importance of the key set of a piano when doing
A new restoration project: Hamilton Player Piano (1915)
With much enthusiasm, work has begun on the restoration of Hamilton-Baldwin #79830. This is a
Repairing the Bottom Beam of an Upright Piano
On this piano, my original mission was to replace the casters. At some point, they had previously
A Singer Sewing Machine is not a Piano
A singer sewing machine is not a piano. But I accepted the challenge of restoring a sewing machine
Schillings and Sons: Completion
This piano is ready to go home again. It is performing well and looking good. Final tasks were case
Schilling & Sons: Pinblock work
As noted in the previous post, the pinblock in this piano had separated from the back posts.
Schilling & Sons: Case repair
Amateur movers frequently damage the lower corner of upright pianos. Shown here is my approach to
Repairing an Oops on an Upright Piano Foot
The starting point After sanding a flat surface, a hardwood block is glued to it. I used cherry,
Schilling and Sons – Pedal Board Replacement
While stringing, I leaned lightly on the pedal board, and found myself with a problem! Oops The
Rebuild of Schilling and Sons Upright
Sometime around 1959, in Raymond Washington, I had my first piano lesson. It was on this piano:
Repairing the bottom board of an upright piano
[The bottom board of the piano was completely split rendering pedals unusable: [This board split
A new grand piano lid
I recently acquired (very inexpensively) a 6' 4" Knabe grand piano made in the 1950s. The
Stieff Rebuild - New sharps
Quality is a collection of small details. And for every piano, the first thing the pianist
Adam Schaaf - Regulation
The photos which follow show new hammers installed in the action and regulation in progress.
1905 Heine Recondition
I do love my job, especially when it's clear that my objectives are met. My objectives? ...
Restringing the Adam Schaaf Player Piano
1919 Adam Schaaf upright piano restringing in process Stringing is complete, and treble pressure
Adam Schaaf Upright Piano - Action rebuilding
The reconditioned bottom board is re-installed. Pedals are buffed and new bushing cloth is
Adam Schaaf Player Piano - Preparation for Restringing
After completing work on the bottom board and keyframe, I'm preparing the piano for restringing.
Adam Schaaf Player Piano -- Bottom Up
An Adam Schaaf player piano recently arrived in my shop for a complete rebuild. I'll be doing the
Stieff Rebuild - Soundboard tapering and ribs
The soundboard was tapered (diaphramized in Steinway terminology). First contour lines were routed
Stieff Rebuild - Soundboard Preliminaries
An update on the Rebuild of Stieff 28334 has been a long time in coming. I've been disappointed
Chickering Quarter Grand Keybed
Work is now complete on the key set and key frame of the 1916 Chickering Quarter Grand. This work
1916 Emerson Upright Rebuild
I recently had the pleasure of rebuilding an Emerson upright piano from 1916. This particular piano
1920's Baldwin Baby Grand Reconditioning
Recent reconditioning of a 1920's Baldwin baby grand included: new key bushings ivory repairs new
Stieff Rebuild - Refinishing
I expect to have more time for the rebuild in November, after I finish the rebuild of a fine, old
Stieff Rebuild – Soundboard Arrival
I am grateful for my customers, and they are taking my time! The Stieff Rebuild is not moving
Stieff Rebuild – Leg Plates
The piano was prepared for its trip to the refinishing shop. It's there now. I anticipate its
Stieff Rebuild - Tear Down
Week 15? Yes. I made no progress on the project for the past 10 weeks. Oh my. Interruptions were a
Stieff Rebuild - Keyframe work
Keyframe Work Earlier, I completed woodwork and cleanup on the keyframe. This week, I installed new
Stieff Rebuild – Keyframe Preparation
I completed some more work related to the key frame, and the mind is spinning with plans for the
Stieff Rebuild - the Beginning
New WNG parts for the action were ordered two years ago. The three photos in the sequence here
A new life for Stieff 28334
Charles Stieff Grand Piano 6'2" (1911) I purchased the Charles Stieff grand in 2005. It was this
Repairing a Broken Console Piano Leg
The legs of a console or spinet piano are a very weak structure. Proper moving procedures require a
Grand Piano leg repair
The casters on a grand piano are purely decorative! Attempting to move a grand piano by rolling on