Rebuiling uprights

[Thomas Cole]

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Dale,

I think more people are wanting to rebuild their family upright, so many 
of them having come to the point of needing rebuilding or recycling. 
Throwing one away is just not an option for some people. Andre Bolduc 
must have noticed this trend when he started giving classes on how to 
replace an upright pinblock.

Since many of these uprights have lost crown, I wonder if some of these 
would be good candidates for Del's idea of painting the soundboard with 
epoxy to restore stiffness.

Tom Cole


Erwinspiano@aol.com wrote:

>  List
> Terrys  post on bridge capping sparked this post. 
>     Although our usual rebuild is some form of grand piano this year 
> I've had a small run of people willing to rebuild solid post Victorian 
> uprights. No boards but full sets of bridge caps, strings, key&action 
> work & hand rubbed lacquer refinishing of the cases. These piano are 
> well preserved Calif. pianos with boards still offering musical 
> potential & of course the never to be seen again Victorian beauty.
>   These pianos are by brand name,Schaaf bros. 1903, Mason& Hamlin 
> 1908. Baldwin 1885,(one of the first) & A Steinway k 1911. This is 
> really weird. We don't usually do more than one per year. My question, 
> is this a trend anyone else is seeing?
>    My criteria for agreeing to take on these projects is that the 
> boards must still sing & not seriously cracked up & that basically a 
> very good musical & aesthetic outcome can be assured. If the piano is 
> a train wreck I don't take the job & I tell them the truth. Nothing 
> marginal. been there done that & it's no fun.
>   It's true (at least in Ca) that perhaps one in twenty uprights is 
> worth doing in the musical sense but none except the Steinway is worth 
> doing in the financial value sense. Make cents? Any way, despite my 
> disclaimer statements to the client (prior to rebuilding) as to its 
> Monetary worth after rebuilding, which is that it wouldn't probably 
> retail for half what they had in it they still choose to do it. The 
> reasons are: Family piano, we liked the old look and sound. It sound 
> better than the new pianos. The case is gorgeous. They'll never make 
> these again etc.
>   That's it. I guess there's folks with money & a different sat of 
> priorities out there willing to do this. Oh yeah I love these  Pianos man.
>  
> Dale Erwin
> Erwins Piano Restorations
> 4721 Parker Rd, Modesto, Ca. 95357
> erwinspiano@aol.com


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