Piano Rebuild

This piano arrived without casework, legs or lyre, requiring replacement parts to be made. The square legs shown are dummy supports, used while the replica legs were being turned. As craftsmen and cabinetmakers we insist on sourcing only the same quality materials as the original instrument, often having to search around the world.

Split and damaged soundboards, often the result of drying, have to be repaired. Splits are opened up, and carefully shaped spruce inserts put in place, to ensure the best sound transmission. Once again, careful material selection is paramount when dealing with cherished and venerable instruments. Modern substitute materials cannot give the same results.

Many older pianos need new wrestplanks as worn and splitting planks make accurate tuning impossible. Here, a new 5-ply rock maple wrestplank has been fitted, and new wrest pin holes are being drilled, using custom made equipment. A good wrest plank is vital to any piano, since it has to withstand the pull of up to 20kg per string.

With the frame adjusted and prepared, stringing can commence. We use premium steel wire for the best sound quality response and long life. With the expertise of the skilled craftsman the wire is cut to length. Finest quality wrest pins combined with neat, tight coils ensure good tuning stability, whilst best quality bass strings provide warm rich tonal quality.

A typical example of a badly worn piano action and keyboard. Climatic conditions, heavy use and moth attack have caused damage to the main components.

Worn or damaged hammers need complete new heads. Old shanks can be re-used, but weak shanks need replacing. The old set is used to determine the correct angle and position of the new heads. Only skilled piano craftsmanship and experience can provide the kind of judgements needed for this delicate part of piano reconstruction.

The repetition lever on the right has been restored, the one on the left is in it's original condition. Leather, felt and cloth parts have to be replaced, and the centres tension has been corrected without sideways play.

The cloth bushings which cushion the metal pins that retain piano keys can become worn, allowing excessive sideways play. This increases wear in the action and must be eliminated by rebushing with new cloth. We have a special method of accurate rebushing, using the finest quality materials - and our expertise.

After any attention to the action and keyboard, the entire mechanism must be regulated. Regulation means ensuring the action and keyboard is working to its optimum level. Our highly skilled regulation craftsmen ensure an even and responsive action for enjoyable and dependable playing under all conditions.

Finest quality damper felt is expertly cut for each damper head. Trials are meticulously set to ensure precision lifting and alignment. With painstaiking patience from the craftsman the remaining dampers are fitted. Position and angle to the strings is finalised for perfect response, ensuring excellent damping for all playing techniques.

After regulation and tuning, the hammers need to be "voiced", which ensures a clear and even tone. Final voicing is done at the location where the piano is played, to take account of the acoustics. This is where the particular experience of our installation staff comes to the fore, using their vast knowledge of sound pitch and timbre.

This is the completed instrument shown in the first photograph. The replacement period legs, lyre and casework parts have been finished in the customer's choice of high gloss polyester. With the exception of the functional legs and lyre, the casework is largely decorative, and entrusted only to our skilled furniture craftsmen.

(1) Frame
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(2) Soundboard and bridges
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(3) Wrestplank
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(4) Action and keyboard
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(5) Piano rim and casework
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