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Bolt in Back Post - Steinway Upright

  • 1.  Bolt in Back Post - Steinway Upright

    Member
    Posted 09-26-2018 22:37
    This might show my ignorance somewhat, but I thought I'd go ahead and ask. I'm getting ready to do a tear down of a Steinway upright from 1886. I noticed a bolt that goes from the back post through the soundboard into the plate. Just taking measurements on everything as I go and didn't know if this was something that has a specific measurement to it. I thought I'd invite all of you wise and knowledgeable experts to chime in on this one. If anyone else has advice or information on this one please let me know.

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    Alden Jack
    Smithfield UT
    435-760-3974
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  • 2.  RE: Bolt in Back Post - Steinway Upright

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 09-27-2018 00:53
    You need to remove the nut off the bolt to remove the plate. After the plate is out, if you don't remove the bolt, there is no measurement needed.  But if you want to remove the bolt, measure the height of it from the soundboard.

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    Willem "Wim" Blees, RPT
    Mililani, HI 96789
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  • 3.  RE: Bolt in Back Post - Steinway Upright

    Posted 09-27-2018 08:51
    It's a nose bolt - just like any nose bolt on any grand piano. Treat it thusly.

    Just curious - what is your intension with the piano?

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    Terry Farrell
    Farrell Piano Service, Inc.
    Brandon, Florida
    terry@farrellpiano.com
    813-684-3505
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  • 4.  RE: Bolt in Back Post - Steinway Upright

    Member
    Posted 09-27-2018 09:25
    Thanks for the help Terry and Willem. I work as an elementary principal full-time, but have been tuning and doing in home repairs in the evenings, weekends, and summers for ten years now. I do quite a lot of in-home repairs, but don't really have a dedicated shop setup for more time intensive projects. I acquired this Steinway upright at a really low cost. The action and cabinet are in rough shape and needs quite a lot of work, but I decided that it would be a perfect opportunity for me to practice some things that I haven't ever done myself like shimming the soundboard. I'm really not planning to resell it at this point, just want to do this piano up slowly for myself to keep. I'm looking forward to the experience. The pinblock is okay, so I will probably to looking at restringing and repinning with a step-up size in pins. Any other tips from you both as I get started on this personal project?

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    Alden Jack
    Smithfield UT
    435-760-3974
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  • 5.  RE: Bolt in Back Post - Steinway Upright

    Posted 09-27-2018 14:24
    Before you get too far into this endeavor, investigate what it needs for action restoration. Parts may be an issue. Those double flanges are a headache and might not be what you want to 'cut you teeth on'. It could be a bigger can of worms than you want to chew.

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    Regards,

    Jon Page
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  • 6.  RE: Bolt in Back Post - Steinway Upright

    Member
    Posted 09-27-2018 18:46
    Jon, thanks for the advice. I have looked into the double flanges and have found that they are pretty tricky to travel correctly, etc. I have found that the Tokiwa reproduction double flanges aren't wide enough to fit over the bird's eye of the original hammer butt. I don't really want to try to file the flanges for a whole set. I have considered getting all new hammer butts and new flanges. The damper levers are okay, and the whippens are also okay, although I may look at replacing the jacks. It is a big project, to be sure, but I may still go ahead with it. Do you have any other suggestions for me that might guide my thinking on attempting my first full rebuild?

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    Alden Jack
    Smithfield UT
    435-760-3974
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  • 7.  RE: Bolt in Back Post - Steinway Upright

    Posted 09-27-2018 19:03
    I've done two of these, the second by mistake. Never, ever again. I don't need a challenge. just positive income. It might be a skillset you will not want to use again. But that's just me. It might give you that warm fuzzy feeling of accomplishment but in retrospect you might realize that you could have been involved in more financially productive endeavors to benefit your family. Is it a hobby or a business?


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    Regards,

    Jon Page
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  • 8.  RE: Bolt in Back Post - Steinway Upright

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 09-27-2018 20:26
    Alden,
    I agree with Jon about the value of taking on such a project, and for reasons not previously mentioned. Any piano of that vintage cannot have a viable soundboard. It always surprises me (maybe not) that technicians expect that a complete restoration, less soundboard, will rival that of a new piano. There certainly is a superficial logic to that thinking; new strings, new action parts and hammers. Some technicians will judge the viability of a soundboard based upon whether there are cracks in the panels. There is a shallow understanding that could lead one to believe that no cracks is the metric of viability. Soundboards noticeably deteriorate in 5 years. The sound we associate with a piano is based upon an attack and decay profile that is created by the internal tension at the rib and panel glue joint. Over time the cellular structure beaks down and the internal tension is lost. This loss of tension produces a high power/low frequency attack accompanied with a faster decay in the sustain profile; a sustain that may last as long as a new piano but with significant power loss.
    That important aspect of the sound we call "the piano" will be absent after your investment in that project; Steinway or not. Be prepared to be disappointed if you have a real sense of how a piano could perform.
    Roger Gable





  • 9.  RE: Bolt in Back Post - Steinway Upright

    Posted 09-27-2018 20:36
    Roger, you have explained this very well!

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    Ed Sutton
    ed440@me.com
    (980) 254-7413
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  • 10.  RE: Bolt in Back Post - Steinway Upright

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 09-27-2018 21:40
    I also did one of these for a customer, and have said, "Never again!"  Mine had a sostenuto mechanism, like a rotating "cage" that engaged little "hooks" on the damper levers.  The new parts, of course, didn't have these, so the natural tendency would be to leave it non-functional, right?  I made them from apropriate sized wire, and drilled and embedded them in the new damper levers.  What a royal pain in the rear that was to make work.   Good luck.  I made everything work, so can you, but be ready to scratch your head a few times.    Clark

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    Clark A. Sprague, RPT
    Bowling Green, OH
    www.clarkspianoservice.com
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  • 11.  RE: Bolt in Back Post - Steinway Upright

    Posted 09-29-2018 08:29
    After the last one, I wondered if total action replacement would have been a better option. Replace the rail with one that is configured for hammer flanges and damper flanges, the modern component type. That certainly would solve the parts fitting problem. It probably would require new brackets as well.

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    Regards,

    Jon Page
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