Spencer of London Upright Piano

[SuspendedinGaffa]

Hopefully I have put this in the right place.

This piano has been living at a school where a friend of mine works for some years and is a little worse for wear and no longer used and I am considering taking it off their hands! While the piano understandably needs tuning, unfortunatly however one of the hammers appears to have completely lost its head and as a result one of the keys does not work at all. My question is is it even possible to consider replacing the head of a hammer on such an old piano? Are the hammers very specific and thus it will be unlikely to get a replacement?

There is a number under the lid on the frame facing the ceiling (pictured below), 88772, I assume this is the serial number which could be used to date it? We are fairly sure the frame is iron too. The friend in question managed to get a few other shots of it to help. It also says "Murdoch, Murdoch & Co" at the far right end of the piano above the highest keys.

Thanks in advance for any help and advice.

[Bill Kibby]

The number suggests that your piano was made in 1933, so it would certainly have an iron frame, easily visible in the bottom of the piano. Age should not be an issue with replacement of the hammer, provided you find a tuner who does that type of repair. Where in the world are you?

[SuspendedinGaffa]

Thanks for the prompt reply Bill. That's good to hear regarding the broken hammer. We're in the UK, England - West Midlands.

[Colin Nicholson]

Its very unlikely just the hammer head has come off alone, leaving the shank in tact - it is more likely that the shank has broken with the hammer head still glued to it - so look out for a hammer head and a bit of 5-6mm dowelling glued to it, probably broken about half way down.

Quite a common repair on old pianos (and new!). You might find the hammer head with part of its shank (wooden dowel) inside the piano. If the mechanism is under-damped, hammer heads sometimes lodge themselves between a neighbouring hammer butt & damper (or wedged against a damper spring) - which could be the cause of the other note not working. However, if the mech. is over-damped (lots of wires at the front), the hammer head may have dropped down the back, and ended up in the bottom of the piano - if you remove the bottom panel, have a look near the pedal mechanism. If you find it - dont throw it out, the head can be glued back onto a new shank.

Look under the keyboard at each end, you will see 2 wooden turnbuckles.... simply turn them away from the panel, and its just lifts off.

However, some tuners have spare hammer heads from previous jobs - a straight forward job to re-bore and glue back on.

Be very careful though "taking it off someone's hands" - presumably becoming a free piano..... there is usually a good reason someone 'wants rid'.... and if the removal costs excess around £80, I would get the tuning pins checked out first - so I would recommend to book a tuner first to assess it. The broken hammer shank isn't an issue alone however - but usually tells me central heating is the cause.... hence brittle & dry wood, and possibly LOOSE pins - rendering it un-tuneable. Just my opinion.

The following diagram should be self explanatory - note the LH mechanism, the hammer head would have no where else to fall but within the rest of the mech. However, the RH diagram - note the gap at the back? so the hammer head may have fallen right through and landed near the pedal mech..... hope you find it ok!

Colin

[Gill the Piano]

On the plus side, if it's a school piano it MAY have been tuned reasonably regularly, as it's an Ofsted requirement. And the hammer head is probably in there somewhere - along with building blocks, crayons, chewing gum...!

[Colin Nicholson]

Oh.... and dont forget broken CDs !
I once went to a reputable Boys school in Bradford, to work out why their Bechstein grand wouldn't play at all - in the bass. The strings location is perfect for dropping old CDs down into the mechanism. I had to completely remove most of the undercarriages in the bass to get out all the broken bits.... !

[SuspendedinGaffa]

Thank you for the advice, Colin! Very helpful and with any luck we'll be able to find the hammer. It's nice to have a little bit more knowledge on the subject so when I can get a tuner to assess the piano I'll be sure to ask about the tuning pins etc.

On the plus side, if it's a school piano it MAY have been tuned reasonably regularly, as it's an Ofsted requirement. And the hammer head is probably in there somewhere - along with building blocks, crayons, chewing gum...!

That's interesting! I never knew that was an Ofsted requirement. I have a feeling we'll find plenty of "treasure" in there when it comes to checking the innards...