Vintage Chickering

[Farrell]

"Classic definition of a time and money pit."

Or is it an opportunity? Likely not the piano to dig into on speculation, 
but if the owner wants the work done, and is willing to pay a fair price - 
then it sounds like an excellent challenge to me.

Terry Farrell

----- Original Message ----- 
>I just looked at one (8' similar era) last week for a customer who wanted 
>to rebuild it.  The soundboard was shot, filled with screws, flat, cracked, 
>painted, etc.  Unfortunately the plate was mortised into the case on all 
>sides.  You could just see the edge of the plate screw heads poking out 
>from under the inner rim on top of the plate.  Without removing the entire 
>inner rim above the plate this plate could not be removed.  No removal of 
>plate, no fix of soundboard.  The pin block was open and would be 
>impossible to replace without moving the plate, which of course cannot be 
>done economically.  Unfortunately, the pin block itself was in too poor 
>condition to plug and redrill.  By the way, the action parts were not 
>replaceable.  Nothing available that fit.  Even the hammers were difficult 
>because of their light weight.  Regulation was very difficult.  Rocker 
>capstans and turn in damper wires, etc.  It sounded awful...  My advice for 
>you is to leave it alone if it is like the one I saw.  Classic definition 
>of a time and money pit.
>