Leg question

[John Baird]

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Avery,

I see that Ron replied with prices.

Below are a couple of posts from Ted Sambell and one from John Minor
several months ago when I made inquiries. We went with the shorter legs
and Renner casters and don't regret it. The original Steinway B casters
were creasing the new stage floor terribly. We don't have that problem
at all with the Renner casters. The problem for us with a Jansen concert
grand truck would have been that, if the piano just needed to be moved a
few feet, would they really go off stage to get the truck for that short
move? In time, the stage floor would have suffered quite a bit from
these short moves.

By the way, we sold 3 of the 6 brand new original Steinway ebony legs
that were left over when we replaced them with short legs, so we still
have 3 for sale. These will fit models B & D.

John Baird
Millikin University
Decatur, Illinois

> Darnell casters are available from Schaff Piano Supply Co. 451 Oakwood Rd..
> Lake Zurich, Illinois, U.S.A. 60047-1516. As there are a variety of styles,
> I suggest you send for their catalogue; I believe there is a modest charge
> for it.
> The wheels are much as you described, with a ball bearing on top for
> swivelling, The stems plug into a socket which has to be screwed into the
> leg. You may have to first plug the leg hole then rebore a smaller hole for
> the socket. The caster stem is then just pushed in and tapped home. This
> makes the casters easily replaceable in case of damage; just pry the old
> one out and plug in a new one.  Darnells are excellent quality and the
> design lends itself to piano applications very well. But if you are
> considering putting them on a large concert grand, it would be better to go
> to the heavy duty casters supplied by Renner. These are large dual wheeled
> casters which require  an inch or so to be cut off the legs. They are far
> superoir to putting the piano on a dolly.
>
> I know the Renner casters are expensive; they also have a somewhat cheaper
> aluminum type which is also satisfactory, but I would really dig your heels
> in on this. Your university has obviously put a great deal of effort and
> resources into their building and equipment. Not to go the extra mile for a
> couple of thousand  seems "penny wise and dollar foolish'. In our
> experience, our pianos get moved  frequently, and we found that when they
> were mounted on a stage truck they never go back quite the same as when
> they are removed. This is because even if the bolts are tight, the  arms
> shift out of position when carried, because of the very heavy weight. As a
> result, replacing the piano on the truck invariably results in damage to
> the bottom of the legs. Our support staff detests them, as I am sure most
> movers do. We put the Renners on all our large pianos and have never
> regretted it. Hamburg S&S D's come with the aluminum casters already
> installed, (these also have locks). If you are acquiring a new New Yok D it
> might be possible to get them to put thse on as an option. The brass ones
> with the locks are superb, beautifully machined. a set of three has two
> with locks and one without.
>
> We use the large brass mother-of-all-casters on our performance pianos at
> the University of Illinois. We ended up buying the shorter legs, costing
> around $275 or so for each. Beats trying to shorten well-proportioned
> legs!
>

Avery Todd wrote:

> List,
>
> Someone recently posted about installing new legs with the
> large brass wheels but I can't remember who. Does that
> person, or anyone else, know an approximate price for a set
> of those?
>

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