Restoring an 1860's Broadwood Grand

[David B]

Hello again,

I have an 1865 Broadwood "short" drawing room grand (which at 7'10, beggars the question how long a "long" drawing room grand might be ), which I want to restore in order to play music of the period.

I can't really stretch to 10 grand at the moment, so was wondering about doing it myself.

I have done work on upright pianos, pianolas and reed organs in the past - I'm pretty confident about the boring repetitve stuff - like doing the same thing with little bits of felt a hundred times etc...

I have a copy of the famouse Reblitz book, and I would not presume to get a tuning any closer than "thereabouts" for a proper tuner to finish.

My question here is about soundboard crown, of which I hear a lot from restorers - a bit like the sucking of teeth that one gets from a plumber, when the wife asks about the state of the boiler

Reblitz seems to suggest that the downbearing of the strings will cause the ribs underneath the soundboard to come away, that this is inevitable over time, and the only thing to do is remove the soundboard and glue it back together, involving lots of complicated supports.

But having had a look at said Broadwood, the ribs run parallel to the strings, which suggest that there cannot ever have been a crown (unless the soundboard itself varies in thickness?), and they seem pretty firmly stuck to the soundboard (though I haven't yet taken a torch to really be sure).

So, if there isn't supposed to be a "crown" on the soundboard, can I just carefully clean it (having restored a C16th oak floor by hand, I know all about cleaning lol), and leave well alone?

BTW, the piano is 95% complete - some of the fretwork on the candlestands is broken, but there's a local cabinet maker who will fix that, only one front of an ivory natural is missing (got one off ebay) and one hammer is gone (though it maybe inside). Strings i will have made to pattern, and time isn't an issue (well it is, I don't have a huge amount, but if it takes years, what the heck).

I know that I'll be howled down by techs who says that "jo public" should touch what it took them 40 years to learn, and the heritage brigade who will say that I may destroy some of England's heritage...but I can take it....

I think

The woodworm in the keys, now that's another story

[joseph]

Hi David,

I think it sounds like an exciting project, I take my hat off to you! It's a rather expensive mistake if you get it wrong (a set of bass strings is in the region of £600 at cost), but I wonder if you might befriend a restorer who can help you with some of the easier stuff by showing you what to do, and can actually just do some of the harder stuff for you?

I think these old Broadwoods are very interesting to play, and when you play Mendelssohn, Liszt, Schumann etc on these older pianos, some of their writing starts to make more sense, and you can return to the modern instruments with a new insight into what they might have heard. Of course, we'll never know for sure, but it's exciting! If I had space and some money, I'd LOVE to have some 19th and early 20th century pianos to play on for that reason.

But I don't have space!

[vernon]

The soundboard WILL have had a crown and it is easy to ascertain if it's still there.One by measuring it and two by hearing it.

[David B]

Thanks Vernon, can you elaborate please?

[David B]

Can someone please elaborate on the soundboard crown issue?

As the ribs run from front to back, rather than diagonally, has is the crown created, and how can I "easily" tell if it is still there?

[Colin Nicholson]

The soundboard is set at specific dimensions during manufacture, and the crown is only really visible with the cast frame removed (viewed at eye level).... this is highly specialised work taking years of experience. When the strings undergo their full tension, the immense pressure and downbearing force on the strings will partly 'level' and flatten the soundboard. You cannot change anything - unless the soundboard is renewed with new bridges. For a piano over 150 years old - forget it!

The soundboard (spruce) laminates are glued together, however they would never support themselves under immense tension (of about 18 tons on a grand) - hence ribs are added to create strength. The ribs are also sometimes tapered at each end to match the profile of the soundboard. Imagine your soundboard as a gigantic "contact lens" !

The ribs on the underside help to keep the strength of the soundboard intact (and also to prevent the laminated from separating), and keep it rigid. If they come loose - you may need to make some blocks of maple wood 'L' shaped, with a driven in tuning pin & length of piano wire with various washers on one end.... then drill a tiny hole through the soundboard - but again, this is not a novice job. The block of wood then sits on the soundboard, the wire through the soundboard, then tighten up the string with a tuning lever - so the wire/block/washers act as a clamp.... when the job is done, cut the wire, and fill the small hole & varnish.

You also need to check the downbearing? this is the height of the bridge (which sits on the soundboard) in relation to the height of the hitch pin area on the cast frame (the flat surface around them, where the strings are looped/eyed and sit flat).... there should be about a 2-3mm gap.... see photo below. A tuning customer made this gauge for me prior to me re-stringing his piano.
So downbearing is important. If the crown of the soundboard has flattened so much, or changed shape over the years, and you have negative downbearing.... then this is a massive restoration job. The subject of soundboard crowns/ downbearing etc is far beyond the normal parameters of these posts under a "normal discussion", and you will need to contact a piano technician/ restorer to explain it more in detail.

Hope that helps....

Downbearing measurement tool

[vernon]

place a steel rule from the top bearing( below the wrest pinsPover the bridge and to the appropriate hitch pin.The end of the rule should be above the base of the hitch pin ie the iron frame by 3-4mm and that is the bearing.
As Colin says, less than that and its big trouble.
If subsequently restrung ensure no felt washers are put under the loops even if they were present originally
That will give you a fly's wee wee extra downbearing