Thank you, everyone so far, for your feedback. Roger, you are correct, I do have limited rebuilding experience (hence, the original question!). Luckily, I am the client, as well, so my pay will be the experience gained, and I'm hoping to get a lot of it! Barbara, thank you for your feedback; that was very helpful. Ron, I already knew what your opinion would be, so I appreciate your relatively low-key response! ;-) The bridges are surprisingly intact, but I'm not sure why after looking at the wood stock, so new caps were already on the list. Bill, that's exactly what my husband said, and he's very pleased to have his opinion seconded on this list! Thanks again, everyone, Nora Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile -----Original Message----- From: "Roger Gable" <roger at gablepiano.com> Sender: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2010 11:54:12 To: <pianotech at ptg.org> Reply-To: pianotech at ptg.org 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/20101008/27a658a0/attachment.htm>
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