Mason and Hamlin questions

[Brian Trout]

Hi Deb,

You ask a number of questions, some of which I won't be able to be of much
help on.

1)  Average prices?  No idea.  Good luck finding the pianos.  They're not so
easy to come by in any condition.  They're usually scarfed up pretty quickly
for rebuilding stock, but you might find one.

2) Lacquering hammers for a new rebuild?  Well, different people have
different ideas of what lacquering means, and there are a variety of
techniques to using that lacquer.  I haven't used a set of Isaac hammers so
I don't have a lot to say about them.  I would however wonder about how well
the piano was built / rebuilt if there was the need to "juice" a
hard-to-begin-with hammer.  A well designed / well (re)built piano doesn't
typically need the lacquering that many people use to try to cover up
defects in construction of some lesser pianos.

3) Competitive prices?  I wouldn't know.  Where to find them?  You could
check with some of the dealers in the area.  You could put an ad in the
local paper.  I suspect you'll be in line behind a lot of other people who
are looking for the same thing you are, some of which might be willing to
pay $4K- $6K for just a rebuildable carcass.

4) There are probably several high end rebuilders that are not far from
home.  You can contact Willis Snyder or Dave Snyder (father and son)  Email:
Vilsnyder@aol.com  in the Robesonia area.  They are excellent rebuilders.
Jim HessEmail: hesspiano@juno.com  is in the Mechanicsburg area.  Webb
Phillips Email: webb1@bellatlantic.net might be a good person to ask about
it.  He's an older gentleman and I know he was very active in complete piano
rebuilding, but I don't know if he's still doing it himself.  He's in the
Warrington area.  A bit south of you is Dave Hughes Email: davehugh@msn.com
in the Glyndon (near Baltimore) area.  He's also a good rebuilder.

I do not know what kind of backlogs these guys have, but I suspect that
Willis Snyder and David Hughes might be able to get to you in about 2003.  I
don't know about Webb or Jim.

I hope you won't think of me as too forward, but I'm no slouch on rebuilding
myself.  I worked for several years as the shop foreman for a large store
servicing and rebuilding many of the major name brands.  My second rebuild
was a Mason & Hamlin (AA?) 5'8" grand.  It was indeed a sweet piano, and I
was sad to see it leave the shop.  I had grown quite attached to it.  So I
can sympathize with your fondness for the Mason & Hamlin.  I share your
sentiment.   My specialty to date has been bellywork.  Soundboards, bridges,
pinblocks, that stuff.  As of late, I've been working to bring the same kind
of quality and precision to my action work as I've been accustomed to in the
belly work, and having good success.  I have not worked extensively enough
with the refinishing work to feel confident in doing all of that myself yet,
so I normally subcontract that end of it to other professional refinishers.
Although I started this kind of work in about 1980, it's only a little less
than a year that I have my own business.

I'm not the cheapest you'll find, and I'm not anywhere near the most
expensive.  My goal in rebuilding is to make them better than they ever were
from new.   My schedule is not as full as the others I mentioned, but it
might be into 2001 before I could take on a project such as you spoke of.

5)  Is there anything you should watch out for in purchasing a rebuilt Mason
& Hamlin?  That's really a pretty hard question, mostly because of one word,
"rebuilt".  That word will mean radically different things to different
people.   To Willis Snyder, it will mean that the piano got most everything
possible.  To a dealer, it might mean a lot less work.  In a lot of ways,
the piano rebuilders have been raising their own standards.  The pianos
being rebuilt today by the likes of Willis Snyder and Dave Hughes have a
higher standard than many did from brand new.  But years ago, people would
put on some new strings, a fresh coat of "paint", some new hammers and
keytops, and call it rebuilt.  For what you're looking for, remanufactured
might actually be a better word.

That being said...  You're probably better off with an old piano that's been
completely rebuilt as opposed to a new one.  You'll want to see a new
soundboard, with new bridges, not an old soundboard and a fresh coat of
polyurethane.  You'll want to see new action parts, not "refurbished" old
ones.

One suggestion, if I may.  It might be good to find a technician who can go
along with you to help you evaluate a potential piano before you buy it.  A
knowledgeable technician would be able to tell what may or may not have been
done, and would be able to advise you of what needs to be done.

I don't know if any of that helped at all.  There's just so much
information.  And there's some, such as pricing, that I'm just not familiar
with.

Good luck in your search.

Feel free to contact me, or any of the guys I listed above if we can help
any further.

Sincerely,

Brian Trout
Grand Restorations
Quarryville, PA
btrout@desupernet.net