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Everytime notching the bridges, new dos and don'ts are learned. I'd better write it down before the brain throws it out. Getting forgetful with age. It has been always a struggle trying to decide if the plate should be sanded wet or dry. Mr. David Betts taught us to wet sand with water. Many rebuilders prefer sanding dry. After a number of experiments for the last 9 years, I find sanding with water and a little bit of soup works the best for now. Whenever the plate is pulled out of a piano, the V-bar or capo d'astro is going to be polished for strings to pass by smoothly. The V-bar on this piano is very rusty. We are going to make it shiny. To better observe the polishing process, the top of the V-bar is painted with a thick marker.
These leather buttons can be used on pianos, furniture, and wherever a vintage presentation is preferred. The process is guided by the shop owner Mr. Jude Reveley. The idea was initiated by piano technician Jonathan Tetzlaff following the Steinway piano tradition.
Each time installing or gluing on keyend felt, something new is learned. The result is never perfect nor ideal. At least for me, it is ideal if the result can be improved each time. "Ideal", for now, means the felt width follows the shape of the keyend exactly, not rubbing each other after returning the keys to the key frame. This is still a practice, to develop a feeling of the hammers. The shop owner Mr. Jude Reveley will voice these hammers in piano after they are hung, the action fully assembled, and the piano fine tuned. The manual from Renner USA can be found here. The router bit maintenance is usually ignored. Whenever picking up a bit, it is filled with dust, gum, and pitch. John Cameron showed us his maintenance method. Combining his teaching and our experience, here is what we are currently doing to keep the bits sharp as long as possible.
The procedure is guided by shop owner Mr. Jude Reveley. Tool sharpening and use of hand force on chisels is taught by Mr. John Cameron. This is my second practice in the 8 years of working at Absolute Piano Restoration and the third in my entire life. Hopefully the next one could be a little better. My deep gratitude for these two dedicated masters. According to Renner USA, the balancier center pin friction is between 6 and 8 grams. On this new set of wippens, the friction is about 1 to 2 grams. Re-pinning is needed. During the procedure, the rep-spring will be in the way, a small hook can be made out of piano wire or a paper clip to pull the spring out of the way.
Often times, the center pin bushing cloth is treated with a certain chemical from manufacturer which may cause increased centerpin-bushing friction through time and usage. Re-pinning helps prevent this problem. This is a trial. A better process is yet to be developed with advice from colleagues and professionals. The process was initially orally instructed by our shop owner Mr. Jude Reveley. On the first time, it was done with a drill press. But the drill press table is only so long. The holes at and near the two ends of keyframe are hard to drill straight or perpendicular to the keyframe. This is the second time of glider studs installation. It is done by hand. Hopefully a more accurate and efficient way or ways can be developed through time and with advice from colleagues and professionals. The Blüthner piano nosebolt nuts require a special spanner for extraction. One nut has two slots as shown in pictures.
The raviolis in pedal boxes are usually beat up and full of dust, upon which the back of a pedal rests. To make new ones, we need:
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