<HTML><HTML>Greetings,             &nbs= p; Upom leaving piano tech school, I had this very same idea: to restore Tur= n- of-the-century uprights for folks who appreciate the Victorian decor, wit= h all the curly cues in the ornate wood working. A guy named Tom Moyer in th= e Reading-Lebanon area does such work. I have changed my mind about this bus= iness, because the market is probably very small.             &nbs= p; However, I own one such piano. Her name is Becky.  I am actually pla= nning a "turn of the century room" in my next home. I plan to restore my old= Becker Brother's upright (1903) from the furniture part all the way to new = hammers. The soundboard is excellent. One knocks on it and it echoes/resonat= es 'like the dickens'. The bridges are really good too, and the aprons are i= n total contact with the soundboard. Becky may need new hammers and felts al= l over and possibly new tuning pins, a size larger. I would call this= an extensive reconditioning, but not a rebuild. Becky would be worth= it. She helped me through college and the cabinet is very Victorian ( ornat= e/curly que-ish). Her booming sound is great on the Beethoven!             &nbs= p;   I would name it a noble cause to restore these turn of the ce= ntury uprights. This is a part of true Americana; it reminds us of when almo= st every medium sized town in North Americia had the little piano manufactur= er. Think of them all...Girard, Becker Bros, Jannisen, Cable Nelson, Reinhar= d, the list goes on and on! (Yes, Canada was manufacturing their uprights in= their mid-size towns too, as well as Toronto...likened to New York for us)&= nbsp; If you can find good candidate pianos, do the work and then market the= piano at the correct place to get the desired appreciative customer... its = a go. Why not? Julia Gottchall, Reading, PA </HTML>