Beginning a new project in our shop, the restoration of a 1907 Steinway model O grand piano. This piano is in fairly good playing condition, but it definitely needs restoration as the soundboard is cracked, it needs new strings, action work and more. I'll be posting pics as we go along on this so subscribe and keep up.
We have begun dismantling the piano, which is removal of the strings and pins. Once that's done we can take a closer look at cracks in the soundboard. We will also remove the cast iron plate in order to not only clean it but also get to the soundboard cracks to make repairs.
This piano is completed. As you can see in the previous pics, the piano contained a lot of dirt and animal hair. It had not been cleaned in decades and the action itself was full of 100 year old dirt, grime and hair. This required that the entire action be disassembled, each part brushed out, every flange (hinge) be eased and lubricated and then the action reassembled.
New key tops were applied to the keys, the plate removed, cleaned and repainted, the soundboard repaired and refinished and all new strings installed.
The hammers were all resurfaced and voiced for optimal sound. There were several parts in the action that were broken. Since the parts are no longer in production, it required that these parts be remanufactured (hand carved) in the shop and installed.
The customer opted not to refinish the piano, but we went through and touched up all the little dings and scratches wherever possible.