r/pianotech

striking out with 0000 steel wool and brasso. any advice for how to get these rough patches shiny again?

I would appreciate any possible assessment. This piano has been stored in a warehouse for 13 years with fluctuating temperatures and no stable humidity levels. However, it was kept dry. Before being stored, it was apparently professionally refurbished.

All keys play cleanly. The dampers press smoothly and properly. The notes initially sound fine, although of course it is out of tune. No rust or major visible damage is apparent.

Could you provide any insight into its condition and what kind of restoration would be necessary to make it fully playable again?

I would be looking at around €1000 in transport costs. Would it be worth investing time and money into this? Unfortunately, a professional piano builder cannot easily inspect it in advance.

I would be very grateful for any advice.

Have any techs or restorers seen a pin block used in a restoration that has old holes plugged like this? This seems strange to me. It's pretty beat up and this was consistent all along the block. First, I'd expect a new pin block. Second, if they reused the original block, why? Third, when reusing the block, how could they make holes in new locations unless they used a different plate? Fourth, is it common to use a different plate in a restoration? Up top, the pins were angled towards the tail, unlike what we normally see as angled toward the keys.

I wasn't impressed with the quality of the string work, either, so maybe the whole job was subpar.

I am wondering if indeed this piano was manufactured in the U.S.A. (let alone Loveland, Ohio) (That s/n is 1560824).

Bought this 1894 Steinway A the piano actually sounds great and bright. I was hoping to have hammers filed before replacing the whole hammer assembly( they are making some noise), but also afraid the piano would sound like a different instrument with new hammers. My tech told me they have about 20-30% life left of the old hammers

Spent today cleaning it and seeing what was wrong. Im not sure what to do abt the warped key ivories; the biggest issue is the bridle strips you can see in 3 and 4. Should I just bulk order some and replace them all?

Is there anything glaringly awful I'm missing? Any advice on how to tackle this?

All the notes are a half step flat lol.

Just ran accross this today and thought of you all. Its amazing what holds. 1 coil lol

Hi everyone,

Just to be clear, I’m not a piano technician at all. I only had one stuck note on my upright piano and thought I might be able to fix it myself, so I removed the whole action.

The piano already had a few broken bridle tapes before I touched it. After putting the action back in, the notes with the broken bridles don’t go down anymore at all.. the keys feel completely stuck.

Did I probably reinstall something wrong, or can broken bridle tapes cause this after removing/reinstalling the action? I read that maybe the jack can get stuck under the hammer butt, but I honestly don’t know enough to tell.

Does anyone know how to fix this or what I should check first?

Thanks a lot.

I noticed this piano makes an almost snare drum like sound, kind of rattling, kind of like speakers playing too loudly type sound.

comes from left side of piano definitely, can feel the vibration occurring on left side of piano.

the interesting bit is it only really happens when I press middle C.

couldnt find any loose hardware or components.