[pianotech] Tips for restoration of a 1926 Knabe grand?

[Paul T Williams]

Hi Roger,

I was trying to respond to you privately, but your e-mail didn't want to 
go through.  Could you send me a personal message so I can.
Thanks!

Paul  pwilliams4 at unl.edu



From:
"Roger Gable" <roger at gablepiano.com>
To:
<pianotech at ptg.org>
Date:
10/08/2010 01:54 PM
Subject:
Re: [pianotech] Tips for restoration of a 1926 Knabe grand?



Nora,
   I agree with Barbara and William that these pianos are not much to 
write home about. Over the years I find one underlying negative aspect to 
piano rebuilding; the customer is expecting more than the technician or 
piano can produce. This manifests itself when the technician is expecting 
more than is possible through naiveté or outright deception. Engaging in 
such practice can damage your reputation in short order. There was a well 
known PTG member in this area who engage in a "rebuild" of a 
turn-of-the-century Steinway "A". The job entailed a new action and 
restringing. When the job was completed, the customer -- a well to do 
client - was grossly disappointed with the $10,000 expenditure. Why? Any 
seasoned technician could easily tell that the underlying problem was that 
it needed a new soundboard. Subsequently, the customer sent the piano out 
to a well known rebuilding technician, yielding a greater than expected 
outcome. 
   Here in the Pacific Northwest, pianos live a much longer viable life 
than in areas such as the East coast or Gulf states. A 1926 Knabe may, in 
a long shot, be economically feasible if it lived in this area all its 
life. But I think, no matter how the economics spell out, that the end 
result could be disappointing. Nora, don't take this personally, but your 
asking the question suggests that you may have limited experience 
rebuilding. If so, be careful.
 
Roger Gable
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Barbara Richmond 
To: pianotech at ptg.org 
Sent: Friday, October 08, 2010 10:41 AM
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Tips for restoration of a 1926 Knabe grand?

 
 
hi Nora,

How are the bridges?

I'm not fond of those skinny/flattened balance pins.  IMO, there's too 
much contact surface between pin and bushing; it seems like they're either 
too loose or too tight--not just right.  Maybe using VS Profelt would make 
a difference in the final fitting. 

Paying close attention to strike weight (ala Stanwood) made a huge 
difference in tone in the low tenor on the action I rebuilt.  I went with 
a fairly light-weight hammer to avoid touch weight problems.

Barbara Richmond, RPT
near Peoria, Illinois




----- Original Message -----
From: "nora somer" <gurlieshop at gmail.com>
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: Friday, October 8, 2010 11:50:39 AM
Subject: [pianotech] Tips for restoration of a 1926 Knabe grand?

Hello all,
 
Any hints, tips, FYIs, or sage words of wisdom for restoring a 5'8" 1926 
Knabe grand? Is there anything special (inherent to this piano) I should 
look out for and address in the restoration process? 
 
Philosophical question:  is it still a 1926 Knabe if little things unique 
to a Knabe of that time period are changed (i.e., replacing the center 
rail key pins and key buttons with modern ones)?  If it's not a flaw or 
poor design, I just think it would be cooler to have the original design, 
but what a hassle it would be for replacing key buttons and bushings! What 
are your thoughts?
 
Thanks in advance, 
 
Nora Somer RPT
SLC UT Chapter

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20101008/c3ab2c58/attachment.htm>