<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1"> <title></title> </head> <body text="#000000" bgcolor="#ffffff"> Dale,<br> <br> I think more people are wanting to rebuild their family upright, so many of them having come to the point of needing rebuilding or recycling. Throwing one away is just not an option for some people. Andre Bolduc must have noticed this trend when he started giving classes on how to replace an upright pinblock.<br> <br> Since many of these uprights have lost crown, I wonder if some of these would be good candidates for Del's idea of painting the soundboard with epoxy to restore stiffness.<br> <br> Tom Cole<br> <br> <br> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Erwinspiano@aol.com">Erwinspiano@aol.com</a> wrote:<br> <blockquote type="cite" cite="midca.26eb66cf.2d414a2b@aol.com"> <meta charset="UTF-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; "> <meta content="MSHTML 6.00.2730.1700" name="GENERATOR"> <div><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000040" size="4"> List</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000040" size="4">Terrys  post on bridge capping sparked this post. </font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000040" size="4">    Although our usual rebuild is some form of grand piano this year I've had a small run of people willing to rebuild solid post Victorian uprights. No boards but full sets of bridge caps, strings, key&action work & hand rubbed lacquer refinishing of the cases. These piano are well preserved Calif. pianos with boards still offering musical potential & of course the never to be seen again Victorian beauty.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000040" size="4">  These pianos are by brand name,Schaaf bros. 1903, Mason& Hamlin 1908. Baldwin 1885,(one of the first) & A Steinway k 1911. This is really weird. We don't usually do more than one per year. My question, is this a trend anyone else is seeing? </font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000040" size="4">   My criteria for agreeing to take on these projects is that the boards must still sing & not seriously cracked up & that basically a very good musical & aesthetic outcome can be assured. If the piano is a train wreck I don't take the job & I tell them the truth. Nothing marginal. been there done that & it's no fun.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000040" size="4">  It's true (at least in Ca) that perhaps one in twenty uprights is worth doing in the musical sense but none except the Steinway is worth doing in the financial value sense. Make cents? Any way, despite my disclaimer statements to the client (prior to rebuilding) as to its Monetary worth after rebuilding, which is that it wouldn't probably retail for half what they had in it they still choose to do it. The reasons are: Family piano, we liked the old look and sound. It sound better than the new pianos. The case is gorgeous. They'll never make these again etc.</font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000040" size="4">  That's it. I guess there's folks with money & a different sat of priorities out there willing to do this. Oh yeah I love these  Pianos man.</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font lang="0" face="Times New Roman" color="#000040" size="3" family="SERIF" ptsize="12">Dale Erwin<br> Erwins Piano Restorations<br> 4721 Parker Rd, Modesto, Ca. 95357<br> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:erwinspiano@aol.com">erwinspiano@aol.com</a></font></div> </blockquote> </body> </html>