Restoring old uprights

[Carl Meyer]

Charles;  I share your interest in this subject.   One of the most important
responses to this subject was.  "Is it worth it?"
If you take all the upright pianos in the world and ask these questions:
Is this piano worth restringing?  a new pin block?  Plate removal?
Regulation? New hammers?  Dampers? Refinishing? Hammers? Key tops?  etc etc
etc!!!!!!  Of the 10 or more million pianos out there, how many do you say
yes to even some of those questions?  The subject was RESTORING wasn't it?
Sure there are some that  would be worthy for various reasons.

I submit that some of the ones not meeting that criteria could be
"reconditioned?" and become serviceable instruments.  For that to be
economically feasible any clever way to resurrect them cheaply should be
persued.  That's why I approve of using epoxy, bailing wire, silly putty,
beer cans, wine bottles and sawdust to fix pianos.  The caveat is
"understand what your doing and why".  Think things thru and thru.  The only
substitute for knowing what you're doing is being 16 years old.

I've done some weird things that bring roars of laughter and condemnation
from the less adventurous in our chapter.  But Hey! I've never had a
catastrophic failure yet (some didn't come out as good as I'd liked but?)
Some of my cohorts have had to give the piano back to the customer because
their repair failed in the shop before completion.

The reason I favor Epoxying pin blocks is that with very thin epoxy the
structural integrity of the block can be restored and it can be much quicker
that replacement and allow more of those unworthy ones to be in the
reparable category.  Yes, plates with holes needn't be removed for 3/8 plugs
even of you need to drill out the plate slightly.  I don't necessarily use
3/8, I use the drill that will give me the best fit.  For my drilling
machine I need longer drills and there are sizes in metric that will give me
the fit I want.  These are available at industrial supply houses.  Sometimes
I've glued in the plugs flush to the top of the plate, and used red bushing
cloth punchings over the tuning pins for appearances.  I make these with a
punch designed for player piano work.

Anyway, have fun.  Don't be afraid to make mistakes.  Just don't make the
same one twice.

Regards

Carl Meyer





----- Original Message -----
From: "Charles Neuman" <piano@charlesneuman.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, August 12, 2001 6:16 AM
Subject: Re: Restoring old uprights


> I have some followup questions on this subject. The subject interests me a
> lot, and I've been gathering information on it whenever I can.
>
> 1) I'm curious what the answer is to Roy's first question: "Can you
replace
> a pin block in an old upright with completely tearing the back apart?" It
> sounds like people have suggested better alternatives, but I'm curious if
it
> could be done.
>
> 2) In the method with the maple or pinblock material plugs, that requires
> taking the plate off, right? Otherwise I can't see how you'd get the plug
> in. Might be a silly question.
>
> 3) "Jolly Roger" responded as follows: "Andre Boldoc sells all the
specialty
> tools and instructions for
> performing this task efficiently..." Is he talking about replacing the
> pinblock, or filling and re-drilling the holes?
>
> 4) Roy said that sometimes oversized pins don't work to his satisfaction.
In
> those cases, what is the problem? Can that problem be determined ahead of
> time, or is it trial and error?
>
> 5) Regarding using oversized pins on an old upright: Is that just a way to
> get the job done in a reasonable and affordable way for the customer, or
is
> it something you would do if money weren't an issue? The reason I ask is
> that I've heard various opinions on it. On the one hand, the pinblock on
an
> old upright is well protected from the elements and therefore can last
much
> longer than a grand pinblock. On the other hand, you can't really see the
> condition of the pinblock, and by using larger pins you might just be
> delaying or not dealing with a problem (like cracks). Can someone jump in
> and offer more opinions?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Charles Neuman
> PTG Assoc.
> Nassau County, NY
>
>
>
>
>