Estey lyre support rods

[Susan Kline]

>This time the piano was wobbly. A 1923 Estey baby grand <snip>
>They also lost the Lyre support rods. Were those made from dowel stock? 
>Looks like a socket for a rounded end or did I look too quick? What would 
>have been the original wood they were made out of? I prefer to duplicate 
>original if possible. Were the sockets lined? Felt, buckskin? Are the 
>Shaff brass rods the only other option? Thanks for your experience.
>Keith R
>Associate PTG


Well, Keith, it's hard to tell exactly what was there to start with, unless 
you just happen to run across another Estey grand. But while I've found 
some Aeolian grands with plain dowels for lyre props, most sticks I've seen 
were either turned on a lathe (thicker in the middle), or square in 
cross-section and tapered, so they were thicker in the middle and tapered 
on the ends. Then a round would be turned on the last few inches. Look at a 
Steinway to see this style of lyre prop. Also, there is sometimes a little 
bead or two in the thick area of the middle, or a little ridge. Late 19th 
century grands could have more elaborately turned lyre sticks, but by 1923 
they probably were fairly simple.

Of course, most of this is just for decoration ... but if the woodworking 
doesn't scare you, it can be fun to do something like this. Stain them dark 
and put some sort of varnish on them. Hardwood is sturdiest, but maple 
doesn't take stain well.

To get them the right length, I make them a little long, and then with the 
lyre installed, I use a short telescoping curtain rod, putting it into one 
end hole and pulling it out until it touches the other. Then I mark where 
the curtain rod overlaps itself, with a magic marker. At this point, I can 
remove it, pull it back out until the mark is seen, and lay it next to the 
lyre prop to mark where I should saw.

Hope this is some help. Of course, you can just use those short brass 
braces which screw into the posts and the keybed, but while they work they 
don't look original at all.

Susan Kline