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Hi folks, thanks for the answers. I didn't make a template of the old bridge since I was not confident I could do it well enough and I was reluctant to machine away the tops of the bridges as I would lose my only reference so I got a special router cutter and machined the tops off so that I could li...

Hi folks, it's been a while, but I've finally found some time and inclination to get on with my piano restoration project. I've got 2 questions; firstly I would like an idea of the amount of downbearing to aim for at the front and back edge of the bridge. Reblitz suggests about 1-2mm from the front ...

Oh no that sounds pretty frustrating!!

Well I guess I will continue on until I just dont think I can do any better. That is the only way I can be sure it will be OK.

Thanks for the advice.

Hi all ... just a quick question on how perfect the fit should be when making a new wrest plank. I have a new block of delignit which I rough-cut to the outline of the old plank and so far I have spent 1.5 days fitting it to the frame. I have spent at least a day of that time chalking the frame, tap...

Its a GP action: "Therefore, what could be better than giving the CEUSmaster a genuine concert grand piano action? A natural touch combined with perfect control of musical expression – that’s what lends confidence to a performance." I found this here: http://www.boesendorfer.com/index.php?...

Thanks guys. I've spoken to John Delacour today who was very helpful and a sample of my bass strings are on their way to him now.

Cheers

James

Hi all After Barrie's last comments that Rogers pianos weren't very well scaled I've had a good look into this. I've measured all the relevant parameters and popped them into a spreadsheet: http://www.jamespyke.plus.com/index_files/Piano/George%20Rogers%205'%20Grand%20String%20Scaling.xls I haven't ...

I could be persuaded to make a few more if anyone was interested....

Hi Brumtuner, thanks for your response. I'm suspicious of the bridge - haven't decided whether to do the whole restring or not yet; I'm not going to do it if it won't bring the improvement I'm looking for. (Yes it was Roslau wire). I didn't show the pictures of my first few restringing attempts :oop...

My apologies, I though't you'd remember. :wink: Rogers baby grand; it has agraphs. I've taken a few pics which should answer your questions. Its a bit messy (old felt e.t.c.) but this is still a "can I do it" test phase, and if this is all ok I will go for a proper job and do all the strin...

The restringing is going very well. However, I have a problem in that a few notes still sound a bit edgy when played. I was really hoping that replacing the slightly rusty old wire would remove this, but it doesn't. I've glued the bridge pins as per Barrie's instructions - this has been very success...

Well I've tested the "araldite method"; I've done a trial restring on two adjacent notes. I removed all the bridge pins and glued as per Barrie's suggestion on one note, but didn't on the next one as there was a hairline crack but barely visible. Even so, the difference between them with n...

Thanks Barrie.

During restringing I've noticed some small cracks around the bridge pins on some notes. These are very small (about 1mm long, coming out from the pin itsef). I tried removing and replacing a pin with pliers to see how tight it was - it wasn't overly difficult to remove. How much of a problem is this...

Following up form djtoast's post, I would draw similarities to the clarinet. I've played a reasonable Yamaha (plastic - of whatever type) clarinet. It works well. It sounds nice and bright, plays easily and hey, if you forget to clean it out afterwards well its not the end of the world. I own a fair...

Hi Barrie, I've just taken a vernier to the action; measurements as follows:

Hammer flange centre to whippen flange centre (old whippen) = 112.0 mm;

Hammer flange centre to whippen flange centre (new whippen) = 112.8 mm.

What I was thinking of doing was removing about 2mm from the bottom of the bar that all the whippens are fixed to - where it sits on its iron mountings. My dad is a cabinet maker so I have acccess to all the tools required to make small accurate adjustments to anything wooden. I suppose the other op...

Hi Barrie, Thanks for your help. I bought just the one whippen for now to see how well it fitted and whether it made any improvements. Even fitted as it is it is a dramatic improvement so I am pretty keen to order the whole set. My questions are based on what I would need to do if I had the whole se...

Guys. Hands up, I was stupid to take this DIY route in the first place, but I am where I am now and I have to make the best of it. I am a stubborn bu**er and never let anything beat me. I'm going to do the best job I can. It'll never be a new piano, but I really hope I can make some improvements and...

Absolutely. Why did you buy Abel hammers in the first place? Did you read somewhere on the interwebby that they are the best? Well maybe they are, but in the same way that a BMW engine won't be much use in a Ford Cortina they are unsuitable in this application. A recover would have saved time, effo...

I agree with you; if I had my time again I would not have bought £1500 worth of hammers. I'd have had an action restoration done professionally, then said "right, thats it, the piano is as good as it will be and is worth making it" and called a halt at that point. I spent a long time tryin...

Folks, heres the craic. I tried a Yamaha C1, I don't like the yamaha sound or heavy touch and besides you're looking at £12,000 or thereabouts. I don't have this much to spend right now and if I did I'd probably buy a Bechstein upright. I paid £2250 for my piano because I like its sound and I'd rath...

Theres a dot at the end of my website address in my previous post so it doesn't work; it should be www.jamespyke.plus.com

Hello All You may remember a few posts of mine from a while back - I was trying to decide what to do about the hammers on my 1930s Rogers Grand. Heres my current status... In the end I had complete new hammers made to pattern by Abel and hung on new shanks. I fitted these roughly myself then got a t...

Indeed, thats what I thought; but he said that it if it were to take a day it would be £500. It remains to be seen. Fingers crossed for wednesday.

Hi all, thanks for your collective help. Hmm. Had I know at the start that it would have been so tricky I would have perhaps settled with just having the centre pins re-done on the old hammers. I have found a highly recommended piano technician who is coming on wednesday to have a look over the pian...

Hi Barrie/PianoGuy. Many thanks for your responses. Barrie: Yes, the new hammers are a fair portion heavier than the old ones as the felt pressing is much denser. Luckily on my action the repetition springs are adjustable with a screwdriver so I can fairly easily get them checking properly. I have h...

Evening all. After a mamoth 7 week wait I now have a set of new hammers hung on new shanks for my Rogers baby grand piano. These were made by Abel in Germany. I have fitted all of the new parts now, and although I know that there is a lot of adjustments still to do I have noticed several problems wh...

No, I'm still going ahead with that. I'm in my 4th week of waiting for a new set of hammers and shanks to arrive from Abel. I'm getting serious lack of piano withdrawl symptoms.

I spent some time in a music shop in Bristol last saturday. My prime reason for going was that I was looking for a digital piano to use in my jazz band. However whilst I was there I took the opportunity to try a selection of their grands. They had a selection of Yamahas and other restored pianos plu...

Hi Barrie thanks for your reply. I've had a further chat to the piano supply company who suggested another option would be to send all the old hammers to Abel and have them replace the centres, the rollers and re-felt the hammers. This way, they suggested, I will end up with something which is as si...

Hi Barrie, thanks for your prompt response. I appreciate that the piano is probably not worth it; I only paid £1250 for it to begin with. However, I cannot find a new piano which is in any way affordable that comes close to it for richness and warmth of sound. Before Christmas I decided to reassure ...

Hello all. I have a problem and would greatly appreciate some expert advice. I have a 1937 Rogers grand piano which has a beatiful full rich tone and I very much enjoy playing. However, ever since I bought it a year ago I have had a problem with the action feeling 'lumpy' i.e. the touch weight feels...