{"id":62,"date":"2008-10-24T04:11:06","date_gmt":"2008-10-24T04:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/?p=62"},"modified":"2017-08-20T18:09:12","modified_gmt":"2017-08-20T18:09:12","slug":"rebuilding-a-piano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/2008\/10\/24\/rebuilding-a-piano\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebuilding A Piano"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Baldwin<\/a>We like music at Roy Creek Ranch, and some time ago I decided to get one of my pianos rebuilt.\u00a0 There are two pianos here, an 1893 Weber (originally purchased at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1893 — but that\u2019s another story) and a 1927 Baldwin \u201cC\u201d.\u00a0 Both had seen better days, and I had been contemplating getting one of them updated.\u00a0 The process is long and very expensive, and the plan had been years in the making.\u00a0 Finally, in March of this year, a slot came open in the rebuilder\u2019s schedule, and we sent the Baldwin off for a six month month stay at the \u201cspa\u201d.<\/p>\n

Originally, I was going to have the Weber rebuilt since I had \u201cwon\u201d it in a Concerto Competition and it had considerable nostalgic value, but the process of finding a temporary replacement while it was away had ended with the purchase of the Baldwin.\u00a0 You see, it\u2019s not easy to rent a grand piano — the dealers really want you to buy one.\u00a0 A lucky break uncovered the used Baldwin — originally a very fine piano.\u00a0 Since it was newer, had a more modern action, needed the least amount of work, and was probably a better instrument overall, it moved to the head of the line.\u00a0 Off to Bernard Mollberg\u2019s shop<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It needed extensive work: new strings, hammers, dampers, action, and pin block.\u00a0 New keys and key tops as well.\u00a0 About the only thing I didn\u2019t have done was a complete refinish of the case.\u00a0 It still looked ok, with what I would call \u201cage-appropriate\u201d wear.\u00a0 I was able to visit the shop from time-to-time, and see the work as it progressed.<\/p>\n

The first step was to remove the action and lid, and then remove the strings, plate, and pin block.\u00a0 Although \"Baldwin<\/a>an estimate had been made, it\u2019s hard to tell exactly what work will be needed until the project is underway.\u00a0 I got some good news right away — the soundboard was still crowned with no penetrating cracks, and with a re-finish, it would be just fine.\u00a0 The next time I visited, it had been sanded, the bridges had been re-shaped and new bridge pins had been installed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Baldwin<\/a>I wasn\u2019t able to visit every week, and would have missed some of the milestones if Bernard hadn\u2019t been kind enough to send a few pictures every now and then.\u00a0 The next big steps involved shaping a new pin block, and cleaning and re-painting the plate.\u00a0 It was great to see progress!<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, another technician was working on the action.\u00a0 Initially, I imagined keeping the existing keys, thinking they could be cleaned up and reshaped.<\/p>\n

\"Baldwin<\/p>\n

Bernard recommended complete replacement with plastic key tops since the existing keys had big gaps, they had a fair amount of side-to-side movement and weren\u2019t real ivory anyway.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t realized that they were an early plastic — celluloid.\u00a0 Besides, by starting over, the keyboard could be rebalanced and when combined with new, modern whippens and other parts, a great action would result.\u00a0 Trusting his recommendation, I agreed.<\/p>\n

\"Baldwin<\/a>Several more weeks passed, and I learned that the piano had been re-assembled.\u00a0 With the strings and action installed, it was nearly playable, and the work of tuning and regulation had begun.\u00a0 I decided to visit the shop and was rewarded with my first look at the now-gorgeous piano.\u00a0 The other techs who were working on it seemed to think it was going to be a really fine instrument — music to my ears.<\/p>\n

Two more weeks, and a call from Bernard advising me that the piano was nearing completion.\u00a0 Could I come by and check the work?\u00a0 We made arrangements, and I waited (impatiently) for the appointment.<\/p>\n

As I drove out that day, I wondered what I would encounter.\u00a0 It had been nearly six months, and the anticipation was intense.\u00a0 Was it worth all the time and expense?\u00a0 Would I end up with an instrument that would inspire me?.\u00a0 No worries there.\u00a0 As I played it, I was reminded of my experience as a piano performance major (I won\u2019t say how many years ago) on nine-foot concert grands that received attention from a piano tech each and every week.\u00a0 Magic.\u00a0 I now had an instrument that would stretch my abilities and sounded extraordinary.\u00a0 A truly great piano!\"Baldwin<\/p>\n

More pictures of the finished piano –<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We like music at Roy Creek Ranch, and some time ago I decided to get one of my pianos rebuilt.\u00a0 There are two pianos here, an 1893 Weber (originally purchased at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1893 — but that\u2019s …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,255,5],"tags":[14,12,136,13,10,11,251],"class_list":["post-62","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music","category-piano","category-projects","tag-baldwin","tag-bernerd","tag-homesteading","tag-mollberg","tag-piano","tag-rebuild","tag-restoration"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79,"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62\/revisions\/79"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimkerkhoff.com\/test-roycreekranch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}