Nora, One Knabe idiosyncrasy that hasn't yet been mentioned is the tight spacing of action parts in the bass. Take some measurements down there; you'll probably want to obtain hammers and shanks which are slightly narrower than normal. Ray at Ronsen hammers knows about this, as does Wally Brooks (Abel shanks). Mike On 10/8/2010 2:40 PM, Nora Somer wrote: > Thank you, everyone so far, for your feedback. Roger, you are correct, > I do have limited rebuilding experience (hence, the original > question!). Luckily, I am the client, as well, so my pay will be the > experience gained, and I'm hoping to get a lot of it! > > Barbara, thank you for your feedback; that was very helpful. > > Ron, I already knew what your opinion would be, so I appreciate your > relatively low-key response! ;-) > > The bridges are surprisingly intact, but I'm not sure why after > looking at the wood stock, so new caps were already on the list. > > Bill, that's exactly what my husband said, and he's very pleased to > have his opinion seconded on this list! > > Thanks again, everyone, > Nora > > Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > *From: * "Roger Gable" <roger at gablepiano.com> > *Sender: * pianotech-bounces at ptg.org > *Date: *Fri, 8 Oct 2010 11:54:12 -0700 > *To: *<pianotech at ptg.org> > *ReplyTo: * pianotech at ptg.org > *Subject: *Re: [pianotech] Tips for restoration of a 1926 Knabe grand? > > Nora, > I agree with Barbara and William that these pianos are not much to > write home about. Over the years I find one underlying negative aspect > to piano rebuilding; the customer is expecting more than the > technician or piano can produce. This manifests itself when the > technician is expecting more than is possible through naiveté or > outright deception. Engaging in such practice can damage your > reputation in short order. There was a well known PTG member in this > area who engage in a "rebuild" of a turn-of-the-century Steinway "A". > The job entailed a new action and restringing. When the job was > completed, the customer -- a well to do client - was grossly > disappointed with the $10,000 expenditure. Why? Any seasoned > technician could easily tell that the underlying problem was that it > needed a new soundboard. Subsequently, the customer sent the piano out > to a well known rebuilding technician, yielding a greater than > expected outcome. > Here in the Pacific Northwest, pianos live a much longer viable > life than in areas such as the East coast or Gulf states. A 1926 Knabe > may, in a long shot, be economically feasible if it lived in this area > all its life. But I think, no matter how the economics spell out, that > the end result could be disappointing. Nora, don't take this > personally, but your asking the question suggests that you may have > limited experience rebuilding. If so, be careful. > Roger Gable > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Barbara Richmond <mailto:piano57 at comcast.net> > *To:* pianotech at ptg.org <mailto:pianotech at ptg.org> > *Sent:* Friday, October 08, 2010 10:41 AM > *Subject:* Re: [pianotech] Tips for restoration of a 1926 Knabe grand? > > hi Nora, > > How are the bridges? > > I'm not fond of those skinny/flattened balance pins. IMO, there's > too much contact surface between pin and bushing; it seems like > they're either too loose or too tight--not just right. Maybe > using VS Profelt would make a difference in the final fitting. > > Paying close attention to strike weight (ala Stanwood) made a huge > difference in tone in the low tenor on the action I rebuilt. I > went with a fairly light-weight hammer to avoid touch weight problems. > > Barbara Richmond, RPT > near Peoria, Illinois > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "nora somer" <gurlieshop at gmail.com> > To: pianotech at ptg.org > Sent: Friday, October 8, 2010 11:50:39 AM > Subject: [pianotech] Tips for restoration of a 1926 Knabe grand? > > Hello all, > Any hints, tips, FYIs, or sage words of wisdom for restoring a > 5'8" 1926 Knabe grand? Is there anything special (inherent to this > piano) I should look out for and address in the restoration process? > Philosophical question: is it still a 1926 Knabe if little things > unique to a Knabe of that time period are changed (i.e., replacing > the center rail key pins and key buttons with modern ones)? If > it's not a flaw or poor design, I just think it would be cooler to > have the original design, but what a hassle it would be for > replacing key buttons and bushings! What are your thoughts? > Thanks in advance, > Nora Somer RPT > SLC UT Chapter > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20101008/be2f991b/attachment.htm>
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