Erard Grand Piano

[Tom Servinsky]

Clark,
The action is free to roam in and out as a conventional action. Underlever/
under-damper system is awkward at first glance but it won't interfere with
the action. Of course, keep in mind, when dealing with extremely old wood,
as with any other older antiqued instrument, be extremely careful handling
all parts. You can't call Schaff for replacements.
I'll scan some pictures of our action and post them for the list. I'm sure
more techs out there have also had the opportunity to work with these types
of instruments. Would be interested in other comments as well.
By the way the other Erard which was in our shop was a 7ft in Burled
Satinwood and is owned by Maximillian's House of Grand Pianos. If any have
Max's great pictorial brochure, the Erard in on one of the postcards.  It
too is a straight  strung with an under-dampening system. Incredible ivory
work!
Tom Servinsky,RPT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Clark A Sprague" <clarks11628@juno.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2001 8:02 AM
Subject: Re: Erard Grand Piano


>
> On Wed, 3 Oct 2001 07:08:58 -0400 "Tom Servinsky" <tompiano@gate.net>
> writes:
> > Clark
> > I am restoring a 1900 6'4" Erard ( the 2nd one this year) as we
> > speak and I
> > could add some helpful information about these instruments.
>
>
> Tom, Thanks for the insight.  I didn't pull the action, because when I
> saw the dampers coming from the bottom, I didn't know what I was getting
> into, and I didn't want to break anything.  Pictures will be forthcoming,
> but it will take awhile.  Clark Sprague