While in Ohio, I got to work on a very old Steinway vertical. The owners are ready to sell it, so if anyone is interested or knows someone who might be, please contact me off list. Normally, a piano in this condition would be ready for disposal, but I thought it might have some value or potential as a project piano since it's an 1888 S&S. I was able to make it basically playable again, and did as many rough repairs and adjustments as I could in the time I had, but the piano needs a lot of work. The finish is dull black, and needs some wood repair & refinishing. The strings are mostly original, with the exception of a few that were replaced by someone who was clearly not qualified to do so. Tuning 120-year-old strings was a challenge, and only one string broke on me (which I spliced). The dampers mostly work, but a few need to be repaired or replaced. The hammer spacing is a mess, but I travelled and/or burned the worst offenders to get them to at least hit the intended strings. I filed the hammers, but they were in pretty good condition since they were only 30 years old and not used much since then. The action parts seem mostly original. Most of the bridle straps are falling apart. The springs are weak, and about 10 keys didn't work at all until I repinned the flanges. The original ivory has been replaced with plastic (not the best job). Despite all of that, I'd love to see it brought back to life. I just can't be the one to do it. It's located in Canton, Ohio.
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