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User Name Thread Name Subject Posted
zac Restringing antique upright grand piano (49) RE: Restringing antique upright grand piano 20 Jan 02


I have never seen a piano with a birdseye maple sound board--- I would wager it's spruce-- solid spruce--- edge glued one board to another-- probably if it's pre-WW-II, it's adirondack -- just like the fine old Martins or other high quality american made fretted instruments of the era.The pinblock most likely is laminated maple-- and I guess the face veneer (the one you could see)could be birdseye-- the back posts and the soundboaed ribs could also be birdseye--I haven't seen it'but I doubt that a "visual" wood such as flamed or birdseye would be used in such a "utilitarian" part of the piano,when flat sawn,laminated( at90 degrees one to another) would be as strong if not stronger. There will either be an oval cutout in the cast iron plate complete with a stamped serial number or else the number will be stamped into the upper back portion of the thick wooden frame--on the back of the piano--I have a good friend that I gave all of my tools to back in 1980 or 81-- Tomorrow is a holiday, and he may be closed-- but if he's not, I'll call him-- among those tools there was also a very accurate seralized list of the majority of upright piano's made in the USA all the way back to the turn of the last century--- everybody wants to know when their piano was made-- Weber may be a "stencil" brand-- that is made by a company who placed whatever name you( as a dealer with a sustantial order) wanted -- the book I had was a 1964 version I obtained from an old blind piano technician that I had vrom about 69 till I got out of the business---if you will post the number the name, I will ask Charles to look the number up in that book if he still has it--I'd bet he does. Also concerning the felt--there is felt EVERYWHERE in a piano-- different thicknesses,there are small compression springs(that fatigue over the years-- look like a ball point pen spring) there are adjustments everywhere--- times 88---Piano's in fact are mechanical marvels--If your piano is worth repairing,it's worth doing right-- it won't be cheap though---


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