Restringing Pricing

[A440A at aol.com]

Bert Asks:
<< I have a customer with a Knabe grand with the strings completely 
rusted.  I attempted to replace a few broken strings and tune (upon 
the customers request) but soon started snapping strings. >>

Greetings, 
      You are going to need a lot more than strings. Knabe pianos often have 
pinblocks that are coming apart.  If the strings are rusted, then the bridge 
pins are going to need some attention, at least cleaning them, and perhaps 
re-notching with the next size up pins. 
    Agraffes and capo bars are going to need a careful looking at, also.  And 
don't forget the soundboard, are there loose ribs, cracks, separations?  
     No one can tell you what you should charge, but for comparison, after I 
had been in the business some years, doing a lot of similar jobs, I timed 
myself and spent 23 hours "restringing" a grand piano.  This included disassembly, 
drawing the plate pattern for reference, taking all the measurements, 
removing strings, replacing the pinblock, cleaning up the bridges  with new pins in 
the top two octaves, repair one small crack in the board near the end of the 
bridge, refurbishing the agraffes and bearing bars, installing new felts, and 
chipping. 
   I was young, experienced, and healthy at the time and I was paying 
attention to speed.  Today, that work would take me approx. 50% longer, since I don't 
push quite so hard.   The same work, when I started out would have taken me 
at least twice as long, maybe more.  
    Think about your hours, cartage, parts, and what the learning experience 
is worth to you.   Whatever you quote, you are going to need to live with it, 
so assume that you will probably lose money on your first job like this.  It 
is more important to avoid putting a skeleton in your closet by doing a 
half-way job that comes back to haunt you for the rest of your career than it is to 
try for maximum profits on your first one. 
Good luck, 





Ed Foote RPT 
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html