<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: [CAUT] Legs</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> Hey, Eric, DON’T CUT THE SPADE OFF!!! OK, now that I have your attention, I just did this a few weeks ago.  I had David Hughes talk me through it before I did it, and it came out OK.  I installed the BIG casters from Pianoforte Supply. <OL><LI>The bottom of my legs were really chewed up from being on a truck, and being moved (coming off and going back on the truck) a lot.  I cut 3/4” of the bottom of each spade.  This actually turned out to be good, as it somewhat preserved the proportion of the spade to the shorter leg. <LI>The leg comes in two parts: the shaft and the capital.  David had another term for the top part, but I can’t remember what it was.  I’ll say capital.  The joint is a 3” long, 2” diameter blind wedged mortise and tenon.  You want to separate the two parts and cut down the top of the shaft.  The total leg length, including caster, must remain 24”, so you’ll be taking off something like 2”. <LI>Remove the leg plate.  Drill a hole through the center point of the capital, which may not be the center of the plate recess, to gain access to the blind mortise.  You’ll be cutting off the end of the tenon as well, so you can just keep drilling to take out the tenon wedge.  This hole is for access for a ram, so make it big.  I used a 1 3/8” spade bit.  1 1/2”  wouldn’t be too much. <LI>Put some padding, like 3-4 thicknesses of furniture pad, on sawhorses or whatever you have available that’s sturdy.  Brace the capital, letting the shaft hang free.  Using a ram and a mallet, through the hole you drilled, drive the shaft out of the capital.  I used a length of 3/4” black iron pipe with an end cap and a 20 oz hammer.  A 3 lb mallet would have been better. <LI>On a band saw, cut the necessary amount off the top of the shaft, leaving the tenon intact.  You’ll need to make a jig to hold the end of the tapered leg square to the blade.  If you have an older D with the recessed panel legs, cut an extra 1/2” off the shaft, then make a 1/2” thick plate that will slide down over the tenon and replace the top border of the panel.  Cut the end of the tenon off so it is again 3”overall. <LI>Now you have a leg the right length and a tenon that is part round and part square.  Use a good sharp chisel to round off the bottom new part of the tenon, and extend the slot to the bottom on the band saw. <LI>Reassemble the leg.  I used epoxy, since that old hide glue came apart way too easily.  Insert a new wedge through the hole you drilled, and glue a plug in the hole.  Drilling the hole probably damaged at least one of the plate screw holes, so you’ll have to deal with that.  Drill whatever hole you need in the bottom of the leg for the caster, install the caster, and reinstall the plate. <LI>Touch up the finish at the top of the leg and you’re done. </OL> I think that’s everything.  It’s really not too bad; I did all three legs in a day.  After most of a day of planning, that is.  The alternative, of course, is to spend $800 or so on a new set of legs from Steinway.  At my pay, I could have spent a week on the project and still come out a little cheaper. If you have any questions, call David.  He’s Da Man. Hope this helps, Ken Z. On 4/6/07 10:18 AM, "Wolfley, Eric (wolfleel)" <WOLFLEEL@ucmail.uc.edu> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>I’m interested in hearing from anybody who has cut down legs to install some large brass casters on a S&S D. We have a couple of instruments that could really use this treatment here. I’ve looked at some really nice casters that Piano Forte Supply is selling…   I don’t have a Hamburg D to look at here so I’m wondering how the “spade” part of the spade leg looks on those instruments. Does it just look like a NY leg that has been cut down or have they changed the proportions somehow. I’m concerned that the legs might not look right after we’ve spent all that money on them…   Thanks, Eric </BLOCKQUOTE> -- Ken Zahringer, RPT University of Missouri School of Music </BODY> </HTML>