From: weissborn@DFWVX1.DALLAS.SDS.SLB.COM
Subject: Building a piano/used piano buying tips
Reply-To: weissborn@dfwdsr.sinet.slb.com
Organization: Schlumberger Data Services - Dallas
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 92 16:00:23 GMT

I have been away from my office for the last few weeks and am just now 
getting caught up on my news when I came across the thread about wanting
to build a piano.

I don't know if any kits are available but I do know that is it possible
to build one as I have repaired many all-wood (except for the strings)
pianos.  Usually they were made in the U.K. and they almost always did
not use a cast-iron harp.  As mentioned in the note below, they were
usually of inferior sound-quality, not because they did not use a harp
but because most of the effort was put into the case.

I would suggest searching the library for books on piano repair.  There
are several by a John Leiderman or something close to that.  "The  Player
Piano Co." in Witchita, KS (I think) sells parts, mainly for players and
organs, but a lot of the stuff can be used on other pianos.

Awhile back there was a request in rec.antiques about buying a used-piano.
I am including it here as that may be a good, cheap (If you are careful
about what you get) way of learning piano construction.  NOTE, most, if
not all parts of a piano are NOT interchangeable.  Don't buy two used
pianos thinking you can use the parts interchangeably.  Only if they
happen to be the same make will that be possible.

(Note: the person requesting info had a budget of about $3-5k for a used
piano.  I have bought good ones that needed a little work for as little
as $50.00 and have been "stung" by others that ended up needing a lot 
of work for as much as $500.  Caveat Emptor.)

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Mark,

Saw your post in rec.antiques and since I don't have posting privs yet at
my news site, I thought I would try and get the word to you this way.  Feel
free to post this the group if others have asked for a summary.

My wife and I have been running an antique business on the side for the last
5 years or so.  We have bought/repaired/sold probably 15 or more pianos.
Here is what we have learned about antique/older pianos--the hard way!

First thing to decide is whether you want a nice piece of furniture that also
happens to be a piano or a piano that is an ok piece of furniture.  This may
sound nuts but it makes a big difference in what to look for.  Every
English(ie, made in England) piano has been a beautiful piece of
furniture--lots of burl-wood, fretwork, etc.  However, the sound and mechanism
is usually crap.  They are playable but have been difficult to tune and
difficult to get and keep the keys working.  They are also 85 keys instead of
the "normal" 88 and as such are a bit smaller.

American made pianos, on the other hand, are usually a bit more plain(not
always) but the mechanism/design has always been superior to the English
pianos.

What to look for:

1) This may seem obvious but check the outside over carefully.  Look for cracks
on the sides.  This can be an indication of either wood drying/aging or stress
from the harp and strings.  If it is veneered, there should be no bumps or
splits in the veneer.  If there are, it is an indication that the glue holding
the veneer is starting to break down and/or the piano has been in a humid
environ(Every piano we have dealt with veneer had the veneer glued with
hide-glue.  Water will dissolve hide-glue). While loose veneer is not going to
effect the sound or playability of the piece, it can be a real hassle to repair
and expensive if you don't do it yourself.  Squareness (i.e., does the piano
lean to one side or the other).  If it does lean, make sure it is not because
of a broken or missing roller.  If the rollers are all there, then the lean can
be caused by either a cracked case(unlikely) or my the bottom being broken
away, cracked, etc.  Bad news as this is very hard to fix/repair.

2) Make sure all the keys work.  If some don't work, open the front(be sure to
bring a good flashlight with you) and see why they aren't working.  Some likely
causes are:
	a) Hammer is broken--This is fixable IF the hammer is still there, just
	   glue the 2 pieces back together.  But look for why it may have 
	   broken in the first place, ie, sticking action, jammed ,etc.  If the
	   hammer is not there, it is still repairable but more time consuming
	   because a new hammer/shaft will have to be made to fit.  This is
	   because it seems that every manufacturer used a different angle to
	   their hammers.
	b) Jammed action--This is where the key hits a "lifter" which in turn
	   actuates the hammer.  A lot of times the lifter gets wedged under
	   the hammer mechanism.  The fix is to use a small piece of wire or
	   coat-hanger, bend about 1/4" over 90 degrees and reach in, snag
	   the lifter and gently pull forward.
	c) Broken action--Somewhere along the line, one of the little wooden
	   hinges have broken.  Difficult to repair, especially of the piece
	   that broke is not there.
	d) Broken/Missing bridle-straps--These are the little pieces of what 
	   look like webbing that help to pull the hammer back away from the
	   strings.  This is an easy repair--you can usually do this yourself.
	   By the way, if a bunch are broken or look like they are ready to
	   break, go ahead and replace them all.  Its cheap (100 straps usually
	   go for about $5-6) but it is tedious.  Most tuners will do it for
	   about $10-20.
	e) Hammers sticking on the strings--This is when the piano has been
	   heavily played and the strings have worn deep grooves into the felt.
	   When the hammer hits the string, it sticks.  Usually needs just an
	   adjustment on the action but sometimes will mean re-felting some or
	   all of the hammers.  If you do have to re-felt, I would recommend
	   spending the extra $ to have all the hammers done--the overall
	   sound will be more consistent.
	f) Bad keyboard felts--There are small felt pads under each key.  These
	   rot/weardown with age and use.  A good indication of this is that 
	   some keys appear to be lower than surrounding keys.  This is an easy
	   and cheap repair although I have heard that some piano techs charge
	   a lot.  All the keys have to be removed, new felts put into place
	   and then the keys have to be leveled.  They don't like to do this
	   and charge accordingly.
	g) Dirt.  What can I say?  A good cleaning is a good way to become
	   familiar with your new piece.  Use a soft brush and or a strong
	   vacuum-cleaner to get as much dirt from under the keys that you can.
	   If you think they need just a little lubrication, USE SILICON.  DO
	   NOT USE WD-40!!!!  WD-40 will swell the wood and make a bad
	   situation worse.

3) Check the peddles.  If they don't work, look for broken pushrods.  These are
usually easily fixed/replaced.  Most American pianos have 3 peddles.  Quite
often the middle peddle did nothing.  Sometimes it was hooked up to a
"rinky-tink" bar.  This was a bar that had small felt strips with a piece of
wood on the end.  When the peddle was depressed, this bar was lowered, the
hammer hit the strip which in turn had the piece of wood hit the string causing
the "rinky-tink" sound.  Quite often, the pieces of felt have rotted away. 
They can be, usually, easily replaced.

4) Pin-block.  This is where the tuning pins are.  Look this over closely as it
is the heart of the piano.  All the pins should have a slight (7 deg or so)
upward tilt.  If they are leaning towards the floor, walk away from it as this
is an indication of a cracked pin-block, even if the crack is not visible.

Look for cracks in the block.  This can be tough because some manufacturers
veneered their blocks and the veneer will be cracked but not the block.  When I
am buying a piano, I carry a piece of small gauge wire with me.  I poke it into
the cracked veneer and see how far it goes into the crack.  If it goes deeper
into the crack than the thickness of the veneer, then the pin-block probably
has a problem.

Also, if possible, try to find out how long ago the piano was tuned and how
frequent.  What we have found is that if a piano has not been tuned in 10-20
years, it will take sometimes 6 tunings to get it to stay in tune.  This has to
due with the strings having a "memory" as well as the wood surrounding the
tuning pin.  If it was tuned every 6 months then you probably have a good find
in that it will be easy to get and keep it in tune.

For what it's worth, our tuner says that no piano is un-tunable.  Except that
one we bought with the invisible (at first) cracked pin-block( :-( ).  Loose
pins can be either hammered in a bit to get a better "purchase" on the
surrounding wood.  The wood itself can be swollen via a chemical to grab
better, oversize pins can be inserted, and there are shims/inserts that can be
used to tighten a pin.

5) Strings.  If the strings are real rusty looking, you may be looking at
having to replace one or more.  This is a really tough call without actually
trying to tune the piano(where the breakage occurs).  Look at the bass strings.
They should be made up with a solid "core" wire with at least one wrap of
another wire of equal thickness over the core.  Two wraps is good and three is
outstanding(ie, yields a very rich bass).

6) Cracked soundboards.  A lot is made of having a cracked sound board. 
Virtually every piano we have had, had a crack in the sound board.  It is
almost inevitable really.  Wood moves,  100+yr old wood has moved a lot and
cracks will develop.  What people really should be saying is listen for any
buzzing which will indicate that the soundboard has pulled away from a rib. 
This can be fixed with a few screws/glue but it is a tedious repair.  And I
have been told by piano-players/owners that a piano never sounds quite the same
afterward.

Brands:
Since you have a pretty good budget, look for a CHICKERING (I think the
spelling is ok).  They are considered by many to be a top-line piano.  We have
one(it weighs about 1000lbs!!) and it has a very rich sound.  Another good
brand is GULBRANSEN(They also made player-pianos).  Of course there is
Steinway and even some of the early (1900s) Sears pianos are good(they were
made by someone else but had a Sears or Roebucks decal on it).  Try and find an
upright grand--they have the best sound, in my opinion.

Repairs:
Well, you can do some yourself if you are so inclined.  PLAYER-PIANO CO. in
Witchita, Kansas, is a good source for a lot of parts.  Some repairs are best
left to a technician/tuner.  Unless you are confident about what you are doing,
I would leave it to the tech.

Hope this helps...Good luck and remember--patience and persistence pays off
when looking for a good used piano.

Bill Weissborn
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Bill Weissborn                              
Schlumberger Well Services
Data Services Region -- System Support Staff Engineer
4100 Spring Valley Rd. Suite 600            weissborn%dfwvx1@hub.sinet.slb.com
Dallas, Tx.   75244                 or try: weissborn%ntchcs@hub.sinet.slb.com
(214) 980-7924                      or    : dfwdsr::weissborn

"I got to play baseball...I got a chance to hit..."   Ted Williams
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