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New lyre removal of Steinway A

  • 1.  New lyre removal of Steinway A

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 09-06-2025 11:46

    Has anyone done this?

    We have an A about 7 years old, and I need to work on loose pedals. I can't seem to get the lift rods out  of the back of the pedals to simply unscrew the lyre box to pull the pedals out.

    Is there an easy way to remove the lyre? It's a new design.  Why did they screw with the old ones that were easy to work with?

     

     

     

    Thanks

    Paul

     



  • 2.  RE: New lyre removal of Steinway A

    Member
    Posted 09-06-2025 17:26

    Beware of current production . Cant you just unscrew/unbolt the lyre from the underside of the keybed and then wack the top with a deadblow hammer to unlock the butterfly plate ?  Maybe some pictures will make it clear to envision . I have never had any luck trying to get pedal rods out of the pedal holes while everything is mounted. Maybe you need to unpin all of the trapwork levers  



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    James Kelly
    Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
    Pawleys Island SC
    (843) 325-4357
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  • 3.  RE: New lyre removal of Steinway A

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 09-06-2025 19:12
      |   view attached

    Mr Williams'

    The Lyre in that piano is attached with the new locking plate system. To remove it requires a 3/8" Allen wrench. You may have to raise one or both front wheels by 1/2" to have enough clearance to remove the lyre completely. If its a New York piano every thing will be familiar once you can access the pedal box. If it's a Hamburg piano then it's completely different. You'll need a set of metric Allen wrenches and some patience. I'm attaching a couple of photos I took earlier this year when I had to tighten the damper pedal on a Hamburg D. I think I had to remove about a dozen screws to get access to the pedals so that I could turn the 3mm Allen set screw 1/2 turn. I still don't know for sure how the pedal rods detach from the back of the pedals. Good luck.



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    Karl Roeder
    Pompano Beach FL
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  • 4.  RE: New lyre removal of Steinway A

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 09-07-2025 14:55

    Thanks, Karl!

    I'll see the piano tomorrow morning.  Is it possible to only raise one leg up an inch or 2?  I only have one jack to make it work. It's on a low mat carpet in a practice room.

     

    Now to ask how to close the practice room!

     

    Best,

    Paul

     

     






  • 5.  RE: New lyre removal of Steinway A

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 09-08-2025 00:57

    Hi Paul,

    I've seen what you're describing before, and what Mr. Roeder says is spot on.

    On the slightly-off-but-related topic of how to close the room, I ran into the same problem before. I found that printing off a sign to hang on the door works well, as long as the sign is about 5'2" off the ground. If it's any higher or lower, students tend to ignore it for some reason. I had mine laminated and reuse them all the time. 



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    Benjamin Sanchez, RPT
    Piano Technician / Artisan
    (256) 947-9999
    www.professional-piano-services.com
    www.FromZeroToSixFiguresBook.com
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  • 6.  RE: New lyre removal of Steinway A

    Posted 09-08-2025 15:41

    Paul, this is probably a little late, but the Allen wrench you want for the new Steinway leg and lyre locking plate mechanism is 5/16" (not 3/8" if I have it right) or, preferred in my opinion since it is a little bigger, 8 mm. More detail is available back towards the end of last year on this list server, " Hamburg Steinway Leg Repair".  Regards, Norman.



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    Norman Brickman
    Potomac Piano Service
    Potomac, Maryland
    potomacpiano@verizon.net
    https://potomacpiano.com
    (301) 983.9321
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  • 7.  RE: New lyre removal of Steinway A

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 09-08-2025 16:42
    I'll try that. I didn't get there today






  • 8.  RE: New lyre removal of Steinway A

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 09-08-2025 16:43
    Why did they change a perfectly good 100 year old design?






  • 9.  RE: New lyre removal of Steinway A

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 09-08-2025 18:21

    Get a copy of the Steinway Technical Reference and be prepared for changes.



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    Parker Leigh RPT
    Winchester VA
    (540) 722-3865
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  • 10.  RE: New lyre removal of Steinway A

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 09-09-2025 10:47

    Hi Paul,

    Assuming this is a New York model A from about 7 years ago, you should be able to lift the pedal rods out of the rubber cups in the back of the pedals.  This might require adjusting the pedal tips down to give more slack in the trapwork.

    The lyre is removed by using a 5/16" Allen wrench to loosen the set screw holding the lyre lock plates together.

    Reposting the following from an earlier thread, but I thought it would be relevant here,
    Below is the Steinway New York Leg and Lyre Plate assembly for models S-D (#009060).  In use on the legs from 2007 to Present and on the lyre from 2007 to 2024
    Leg Plate Male and Leg Plate Female with M10 x 50mm Dog Point Cap Screw
    Below are two parts of the "HH Lyre Lock Plate" in use on the Steinway New York Lyre since 2024.  The Female Lyre Lock Plate (#009059HH) and the Male Lyre Lock Plate (#009058HH) are shown below in both the open and closed position. This lock plate has been in use by Steinway Hamburg for both legs and lyre
    Male Lock Plate (009058HH) and Female Lock Plate (009059HH) Open Position
    Male Lyre Lock Plate #009058HH and Female Lyre Lock Plate #009058HH Closed Position


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    Daniel DeBiasio
    Technical Education & Support
    ddebiasio@steinway.com
    718-267-3229
    Steinway & Sons
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  • 11.  RE: New lyre removal of Steinway A

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 09-09-2025 12:27
    I was asked to address loose and noisy pedals on a similar instrument some years ago, and it turned out not to be the pedals, but rather that all four screws of the lower locking plate were sightly loose. I mention that because two other technicians had tried to fix it but had not discovered the cause. The unfamiliar mechanism was obviously part of the problem. It was a new instrument, so it was perhaps a factory defect.