[pianotech] Rebuilding a early 1920's Knabe Piano

[Farrell]

I agree with David Love on this one.  A soundboard from the 20's with lots of cracks, generally, is a soundboard needing replacement.  Also in agreement with David that the premise that a soundboard is better because it is older is a false one.  If it were my piano and I were rebuilding it, it would get a new board.  As David said, shimming is cosmetic, listening to the board will tell you what it has left to give (plucking strings and such).

Ditto.

The old soundboard is worth it's weight in firewood, once removed  ;-]

Not so William! The soundboard is spruce - a softwood. Anyone knows that the better firewood is a good hardwood. So even though it'll burn, you really couldn't sell it as firewood, except to a fool. And then there's all that finish on it - nastry stuff in a fireplace or whatever - another drawback on its value. If you can cut it up and stick it in the trash, I guess one could dispose of it for free - otherwise you might even have to pay for its disposal!

Refinishing prices do vary considerably, and I'd say $10K - $12K for refinishing is not necessarily too much, but is on the higher end of my experience.

I'd rate that price as stratospheric! I paid a local specialty refinisher $1800 for a beautiful natural finish on an 1890s Knabe 6' 4" grand - he did a fabulous job. IMHO, his price was very reasonable - most in my area are in the $2K to $3K range.

A 5'8" Knabe could (properly rebuilt) yield a fantastic musical instrument.  I'd say a complete custom restoration is certainly worth it in terms of what you get out of it musically.  Perhaps not from a resale perspective, but obviously that's not what you want anyway.

Ditto. But I might add that not all "rebuilders" are equal - not by a longshot.

Terry Farrell
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: William Monroe 
  To: lmha60 at yahoo.com ; pianotech at ptg.org 
  Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 8:26 AM
  Subject: Re: [pianotech] Rebuilding a early 1920's Knabe Piano


  Lynn,

  I agree with David Love on this one.  A soundboard from the 20's with lots of cracks, generally, is a soundboard needing replacement.  Also in agreement with David that the premise that a soundboard is better because it is older is a false one.  If it were my piano and I were rebuilding it, it would get a new board.  As David said, shimming is cosmetic, listening to the board will tell you what it has left to give (plucking strings and such).

  The old soundboard is worth it's weight in firewood, once removed  ;-]

  Refinishing prices do vary considerably, and I'd say $10K - $12K for refinishing is not necessarily too much, but is on the higher end of my experience.

  A 5'8" Knabe could (properly rebuilt) yield a fantastic musical instrument.  I'd say a complete custom restoration is certainly worth it in terms of what you get out of it musically.  Perhaps not from a resale perspective, but obviously that's not what you want anyway.

  William R. Monroe





          I have a few questions about rebuilding a Knabe Piano:

          1) I notice the soundboard has very tight grains, never has been replaced, but has at least 9 substantial cracks. If I decide to replace the soundboard instead of asking the re-builder to shim the cracks, will I be able to find a soundboard that is as good as this one is from the 1920's? 

          2) Or should I demand that it be shimmed to retain grains/inch? 

          3) Could I sell the old soundboard to offset the cost of replacement, since it would be a good soundboard to build shims?

          4) The piano has a mahogany finish, but is in very bad shape due to the age of the piano. I want it to look very nice and last many years. What is a reasonable price to pay for this? Is between $10,000 and $12,000 too much.

          Many thanks. 

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