Restored on Contract

54 1/2" Starr Upright #131610

Beautiful mahogany veneer--considerable fire damage. Built in 1916. Restored by Ray's Piano Service. Value of this restoration contract, including improvements, moving, guarantee, pre-delivery tuning, new bench: $3,220.

IMPROVEMENTS INCLUDED:

Board & Bridges, etc.—Repair soundboard. Remove original bass bridge cap, make and install replacement bridge cap. Reglue joints in body which had weakened due to fire damage.

Recondition Action—Tighten all action screws, replace bridle tapes and other defective parts, install new hammers, install new dampers.

Regulation, Tuning—Complete regulation, using new underkey punchings. Tune to A-440.

Cabinet, Keyboard--Replace rear casters. Install new plastic keytops. Complete refinishing: dismantle, strip, sand, repair, stain, sealer, lacquer.

SCHEDULE:

Pick-up--We picked up the piano in Bellingham on October 28, 2004.

Restoration--We began work in November 2004, and finished the project on December 9, 2004.

Delivery--To the owners' new home in Lacey, WA, December 18, 2004.

"After" picture of 1916 Starr Upright:

"Before" picture of 1916 Starr Upright:

1916 Starr Upright:
Additional "Before" Pictures, and Pictures of the Improvement Process
taken in our shop:

1 – We mentioned to the owners that the underside of the lid is a good place to look for an idea of the piano's appearance after refinishing. This piano has a beautiful decal in the middle of the lid's underside. To preserve this decal (since a replacement is not available), we will not refinish the underside of the lid.

2 – We will be able to replace the fallboard decal, however, as part of the restoration process. Also, we will install a new set of plastic keys, since a number of the ivories are missing.

3 – The "patented music rest" is a unique feature of this piano. The entire front panel moves out to hold music, and it is supported by this interesting hardware.

4 – Another unique feature of this piano--a good indication of the quality of the original construction--is the tri-string unisons at the top end of the bass section. We removed several original hammers and shanks which we'll send to the hammer-maker as samples. They will prepare a set of hammers that match the originals.

5 – We inspected the casters with the piano on its back, and decided to replace the two rear casters because the originals were so badly bent that they no longer rotated.

6 – When we removed the pedal mechanisms, legs and keybed, we noticed that the glue joints holding the leg extensions to the cabinet sidewalls had loosened, causing the extensions to drop off.

7 – We glued the leg extensions back onto the cabinet walls and clamped them. We also reglued and clamped the cabinet veneer in many places where it had become loose. The reason for these loose glue joints, we felt, was the fact that the piano had endured extreme heat sometime in the past--this became evident during stripping, when noticed the finish had thickened and hardened in many spots on the front of the piano.

8 – We loosened the bass strings and gathered them together out of the bass bridge in order to inspect the bridge.

9 – We suspected problems with the bass bridge because of the poor quality of sound at the lowest pitches. Sure enough--the bridge cap was split and had become unglued. We marked the position of all bridge pin holes on white paper and used this as our pattern for making a new bridge cap.

10 – We made a new bridge cap, drilled holes in it, and installed it with glue. Then we installed new bridge pins.

11 – We cleaned all the strings and pins, and then we re-installed the bass strings. We installed new stringing braid in the bass section.

12 – With the piano completely dismantled and all metal parts labeled, we stripped the cabinet exterior and the panels, leaving the original finish and decal on the underside of the lid.

13 – We removed the damper levers from the action in order to have access to the parts of the action requiring reconditioning. We tightened all action screws, replaced loose center pins, cleaned the metal parts and lubricated moving parts.

14 – We installed new hammers, hammer rail cloth, bridle tapes, and butt squares.

15 -- We used a special measurement device to cut each bridle tape to the correct length before installing it.

16 – We inserted the bridle tapes into the bridle wires and regulated the back checks to ensure that all jacks would trip properly.

17 -- With the hammers and bridle tapes installed, we were ready to re-install the hammer spring rail and the damper levers.

18 – After cleaning the damper wires, screws, and blocks, we installed the damper levers. Then we installed a new set of treble damper pads and a couple of bass dampers to replace defective ones.

19 -- We re-installed the reconditioned action in the piano.

20 – We cleaned the remaining old ivories off the keys, sanded the top surfaces, and installed new plastic keytops.

21 -- We rebushed several keys where the old bushings had become hard due to fire damage.

22 – We regulated key height and levelling, capstans, hammer blow distance, letoff, dip, pedals, dampers, and spoons.

23 -- We re-installed the key stop rail -- a unique feature of this upright piano.

24 – We sanded all the panels and main body of the piano, applied a coat of dark mahogany stain, then applied sealer and clear satin lacquer. We installed a new fallboard decal under the final coat of lacquer.

25 -- We cleaned and polished the hinges and metal parts of the piano, re-assembled the fallboard and installed it in the piano.

26 – We re-assembled the music rest and installed it in the piano.

27 -- We cleaned and polished the hinges and metal parts of the lid, and installed it on the piano.

28 – We re-assembled the lower panel, installing new felt to eliminate squeaks.

29 -- We tuned the piano several times to A440 until tuning stability was achieved. Finished! This restoration project went very well--the owners will be pleased with the deep, rich tone of their piano. It now plays and looks like new.

30 – View of piano from upper left.

31 -- Close-up of keys and fallboard decal.

32 – Since the owners no longer had the original bench, we obtained a new unfinished mahogany bench and refinished it with the same process as the piano--now the piano has a beautiful matching bench. We supplied, in addition, a brown complimentary bench cover. Ready for delivery!