George Russell piano for refurbishment

[jimny14]

I have a george russell piano which we moved from a friends house as she was moving to a small flat and had no space for it any more. The piano was acquired with a view to getting it refurbished and restarting playing the instrument. Unfortunately this was never achieved and the piano has now been moved to our garage in the short term. The piano is currently in need of some love and attention - the strings currently don't damp - I am unsure why and it requires some tuning. I am sure there are likely to be some other issues but I do not have enough technical knowledge to know.

We feel that it is a shame to have a piano sitting unloved and not played and would love to see it brought back to its former glory. As such we are wondering if someone is looking for a project to refurbish and would be interested in our russell. We are just outside Lancaster. I am trying to upload some pictures and will hopefully put them up soon.

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, if anyone can help or suggest anything please let us know.

James.

[Colin Nicholson]

If you post some photos (explained at the top of the piano advice page), please include one of the whole mechanism.... remove the front fascia panel completely along with the fallboard (lid that covers the keys), and take a clear focussed picture of the main mechanism so it just fits into the view finder (not from a distance away or too close)..... just to get an idea of the mechanism type, and perhaps one or two photos of the main cabinet.... and please remove any clutter/ car jacks/ MG engines from view!

Thanks

[jimny14]

[Colin Nicholson]

Not for me ta....
Not the place to advertise a piano, even if free. Try Gumtree or Ebay. // or on this forum there is a "Pianos for sale by the general public" section - look to your left. Regrettably though, these pianos fetch very little money - anything from £0 - £40.... if lucky.

One of the main problems with over-damped pianos is the notes ringing on, even when you come back from your holiday - they still ring on. In this state, they cannot be tuned.

Just as a gesture of goodwill, I can see part of the reason why the strings don't dampen.... left & right hand brass turnbuckles have come undone.... these are the 'T' shaped brass connectors that slot into a groove cut out of the wooden block; they often work loose.... or perhaps someone forgot to put the back?

Might improve damping, but won't cure it as probably lots of other problems with distortion/ warping of the damper rail that has been tied with cotton string to try and bring the dampers closer to the strings.... "chocolate fire guard" springs to mind!

Slide the turnbuckles back in (unscrew them first), and if loose (action shouldn't move or rock forwards & backwards), bend a business card in half and then pin it to each action bracket.... or bend the brass tab slightly, then tighten up the buckle with its retaining screw.... might not work, but there may be an improvement.... here is a diagram >>

turnbuckle quick fix

[NewAge]

Colin,
Regarding your comment, "the left & right hand brass turnbuckles have come undone". Now that's what I call observation!
It may be time to change your avatar. May I suggest this one?
http://www0.f1online.de/spthu/005412000/5412958.jpg

[Colin Nicholson]

ha ha! //// very good