I did a search of the Mudcat site and found a very short thread with a brief discussion about the need to restring pianos.

I have an upright grand from my father's family. We're the original owners, and email contact with the company last year tells me that it dates from 1886. This heavily ornamented (thick rosewood veneer, lots of carvings) piano is a Weber, and I've visited a couple of web sites and found basic (not enough) information about restringing them. I want to do this job myself (yes, I know it is a heckuva lot of work!). The piano is very finely crafted and easily comes apart for access. Has any of you restrung a piano, and where did you get the strings and the tools? Did you replace the pins (they're so old in my piano that the tuner, years ago, had to find an antique tool to turn them)? I will probably contact local piano folks for these supplies, but I have always found that if I know the correct terms I get better answers, and actually understand them when I receive them!

These are probably the original strings, and when I had it tuned (over a dozen years ago) several broke from brittleness. And it was consequently tuned a whole note low to avoid breaking more. It sounds very dark, but is a lovely piano both for looks and tone. I'm not gonna go buy a $100,000 Steinway any time soon, but I will put a few bucks into doing this job right myself. (I hope that's not an oxymoronic idea, doing it myself AND doing it right!).

The piano hasn't been played for years, and right now it's blocked by other furniture. But I'll be moving it soon to a place where I'll have room to work on it. Piano is my instrument of choice, and I need to make it available to my kids for lessons. (Better late than never!).

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Maggie