Jeezzzzzzz, will you please promise to send the photos to the List so we can stop having the pleas for photos...????? David Ilvedson, RPT Pacifica, CA 94044 David - Here's the thing. The piano in question is being restored as a gift. The owner knows that the photo essay which I send him is being shared with other technicians - but that it will not be broadcast to the world at large by posting on a website. I need to honor that promise. On future projects, if I do this again (every photo set I send out, and I've sent 4 out so far, adds an hour or two onto my day), I will gladly post them in a way that is more convenient, and which results in fewer followup postings. My motivation for doing this is simple. I hope to see a day and age in which well done restorations of older uprights and grands fetch a high enough price that anyone who wishes to earn a decent income on the side can open up shop and do just that. It takes quality work, however, and cutting corners and turning out a cheap product won't do the trick. One badly done "restoration" hurts the prospects for everyone, in that anyone who sees poor quality workmanship on a piano is unlikely to consider the option for themselves. On the other hand, when the job is done right - when the finish is glassy smooth, the tone is full, the touch responsive and the beautiful workmanship that pianos were often built with at the turn of the last century is brought back to life - that type of work generates interest in others and leads to more work. It seems to snowball. I have the advantage of having a portfolio of photos of dozens and dozens of pianos that we've restored in our shop. I charge between 6 and 12 k for an upright restoration, which I'm sure is chicken feed on the coasts, but here in Iowa, certainly pays the bills. I maintain a tuning business as well, which is advantageous in that that source of income provides checks on a daily basis. We always have jobs coming into the shop, so I spend as much time out there as I possibly can. I love a day in the shop - that's what I'm doing today as a matter of fact. So, here's the last time you'll hear from me on this topic. If you would like to see first hand, the processes used in restoring an upright in a way that leads to repeat business and affords a reasonable income, I'm willing to share the photos. The photo sets have a lot of pictures, and believe it or not, very little text. They are bigger photographs (5" width) than what my articles in the Journal are illustrated with. I've sent out 4 sets totallying 60 shots so far. We've got the case and the action completely torn down, and will be shortly beginning actually repair work. Therefore, anyone wishing at this late moment to see for yourself what we do in our shop, please e-mail me personally. Don't reply to this on the list! E-mail me! David's had enough, as I'm sure everyone else has as well. I'm even getting tired of seeing my original posting re-re-re-reposted. Did I say you should e-mail me? If you do in the near future, I'll catch you up with all the shots you miss. I currently have 85 technicians on the list - I would like to see a lot more. If anyone currently getting the photos would wish to post a brief comment on whether or not they are proving to be useful, that might be nice, but please, keep it brief. Like a tweet, only smaller. Maybe just a twee. Or a tw. . . Okay, I'm done. Really. This is my last word on the topic. There, are you happy now? Chuck Oh, by the way, OT, I'm now selling automobile bug-deflectors made from old music desks. Get yours now, while they last. They are impressive to the common folk. C -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20090511/f92ca040/attachment.htm>
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