Semantics check... you say that you broke 6 strings, I'd say the strings wanted to break.  Unless you're recklessly pulling strings way beyond pitch, it's important for the owner to know that their piano's string(s) broke and that you didn't do it. That way you don't have to feel responsible, and you shouldn't, because you aren't! Paul Bruesch Stillwater, MN <div>On 11/9/07, Noah Haverkamp <<a href="mailto:noahhaverkamp@yahoo.com">noahhaverkamp@yahoo.com</a>> wrote: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">I tuned this th'other day. 52". There were 3 broken strings in the high treble and I broke 6 more, all in the treble except for one in the upper tenor. The open pinblock, which was a very pretty grain, had tiny cracks around several tuning pins, but during the semitone pitch-raise, all the pins held well except for one or two. The owner is spending a few hundred dollars to get the thing playing. But we're curious  (this is the first really old piano I've serviced) about the value of it. It is very attractive and the case is in pretty good condition. I know it's not worth much without being rebuilt, but what is a ballpark figure for a rebuilt one? And is there anything I should know about it before going next week to replace the 9 strings, fine-tuning and doing some minor regulation? Is that pinblock face veneer? </blockquote></div>