Previous Projects

5'10 Steinway Grand, Model "O"

Built in 1912. Partially rebuilt, refinished, and reconditioned in 1985, Additional improvements by Ray's Piano Service in 2006.

A beautiful, sturdy musical instrument with a deep, rich musical tone.

IMPROVEMENTS COMPLETED APPROX. 1985:
Partially Rebuilt--Sound board repaired and refinished, new soundboard decal installed, plate refinished, new pinblock installed, restrung with all new strings and tuning pins.
Reconditioned--New hammer heads installed, new wippens installed, screws tightened, defective action parts replaced.
Completely Regulated, Tuned--Adjustments to ensure that piano plays like new. Tuned.

Refinished--Disassembled, metal parts polished, pedals replated, case completely stripped and refinished in satin ebony, reassembled. New keytops with fronts installed.
IMPROVEMENTS COMPLETED BY RAY'S PIANO SERVICE, NOV-DEC 2006:
Complete cleaning: strings, sound board, action, keybed. Replace keytops with fronts. Make keystop rail. Tighten action screws, reshape hammers, complete regulation for improved touch and consistency in playing. Rebuild pedal lyre and mechanisms to reduce pedal noises. Re-install loose keyframe stop block. Regulate sustain, sostenuto, and shift mechanisms.
SCHEDULE:
Signed "For Sale By Owner" Agreement--11/10/06

Sold, Picked up from Seller in Camano Island--11/18/06

In shop for improvements--November-December, 2006

Delivered to Buyer in Bellingham, WA--12/11/06
 

5'10" Steinway Grand "O" Ebony Satin
Additional Pictures
taken in the owner's home

1 – Restoration in 1985 included new white keytops and an authentic "Steinway" fallboard decal.

2 – In 1985 the familiar Steinway sound board decal was installed under the final coat of finish, the plate was bronzed, plate lettering was touched up in black, and all new strings and pins were installed.

3 – Reconditioning in 1985 included installation of new hammer heads.

4 – Reconditioning in 1985 included installation of new wippens.

5 – We picked up the piano from the seller in Camano Is., WA and set it up in our shop for improvements to be completed before delivery to the buyer in Bellingham, WA.

6 – We placed the lid and music rest against a wall in our showroom for temporary storage during repairs.

7 – Careful inspection of the action in our shop showed that the keyfronts and keyframe were jamming against the keyslip, especially when the shift pedal was depressed. We will address this problem by replacing the key tops and fronts. While removing the previous set of key tops and fronts, we noticed the main cause of our problem: new fronts had been installed over old fronts. We removed the original fronts, and we sanded the front wood surfaces of the keys.

8 – We cleaned the keys and repaired indentations (left from the substandard previous keytop installation) in the top surfaces with veneer and wood repair material.

9 – We installed new plastic keytops with fronts with PVC-E cement.

10 – After the cement was dry, we shaped the edges of the keytops and fronts to fit each key, using special jigs on our router.

11 – Using a file, we completed the shaping process by hand, checking each key as we placed it in its location on the keyframe.

12 – This piano was missing a keystop rail, so we cut out a new rail from a straight maple plank and reduced its thickness on our thickness planer.

13 – We shaped rounded bevel edges on the top of the new rail, using our wood router table.

14 – After drilling holes in the keystop rail and countersinking them, we applied sealer and lacquer.

15 – We tightened the screws in the keyframe, cleaned all wood surfaces with steel wool, and polished the key pins.

16 – We removed the old felt underkey punchings and, with the the end blocks and keyslip in place holding the keyframe, we set the height of the top and bottom keys with keytops 26/32" above the keyslip at both ends. These heights will guide us in regulating key heights and leveling for the entire keyboard.

17 – With special lead key weights attached to the back checks, we regulated key height and leveling, using new felt underkey punchings. We also reduced side-to-side wobbling of keys by slightly turning the front key pins where needed.

18 – After re-installing the top action, we regulated hammer heights, hammer blow distance, letoff and drop, using our regulating jig indicating string heights.

19 – Action regulation is complete--ready for regulating dampers, sustain, and sostenuto.

20 – Using our Spurlock underlever jig, we correct the heights of the damper underlevers. These need to be in line for the sostenuto and sustain systems to work well.

21 – After cleaning the components, we re-installed the sostenuto mechanism and regulated it by correctly positioning the height and turning of the sostenuto bar. Steinway sostenuto mechanisms are difficult to regulate because of their location at the back of the action.

22 – We installed new nameboard felt on the bottom edge of the fallboard--this must have been neglected by the previous technician. Also, we installed the new keystop rail on the action.

23 – Done! We're ready for delivery. . .