damaged piano

[Jeff Tanner]

Wim wrote:
>Then there is the keybed. You say it has mold growing on it. Again, if the
>keybed has gotten wet, the drying out process is going to take years. Thre
>is a good chance it will warp and buckle, which will make action
>regualtion difficult, if not impossible. . Yes, you might be able to
>replace the keybed, along with the action, but are you really set up, much
>less qualified, to do all of that work? (I know I would be hesitant to do
>that much restoration.)




Yes, there are a couple of buckles in the keybed, and it SHOULD be
replaced.  I agree.  I don't consider myself qualified to replace a keybed,
and we are by no means set up for it.  But even if we were, and I did feel
qualified for this, I'm already stretched thin for tunings alone, much less
any other regulating, refurbishing and rebuilding work which needs to be
done more often than I can get to it.


>
>Just having to deal with the action and keybed will make replacing the pin
>block and strings seem like a piece of cake. I think you should warn your
>chair that this piano is most likely a complete loss, and that he should
>start thinking about replacing the piano, instead of trying to fix it.  
>
>Wim
>

I don't think the pinblock and strings are damaged.  The fact that the
action stack and dampers still work freely leads me to believe that
exposure to this area was minimal, if at all.

It sounds like the majority of the responses I've received agree with you
that this piano should be treated like a total loss and replaced.  But I
will be surprised if replacement value funds will be available.  Again, we
purchased these pianos bulk in 1995 at a per unit cost of well less than
half what we'd have to pay to replace one today.  I was told last week by a
dealer that the current MSRP for a Baldwin L is over $42K -- that's $12K
more than I was told it was 4 years ago when I started here.

What I'm EXPECTING is that we'll wind up having to live with the best
repair we can afford.  I HOPE that means I can at least send it to Baldwin
or other qualified rebuilding shop to have it completely restored.  I'm
more afraid that with our budget problems, that's going to mean drying it
out and putting it back together as best I can with as few parts purchases
as possible.

Jeff