Iron frame repainting

22nd of February

I believe this Steinway deserved a fresh paint for his 100's birthday.

Look at him now, he's 20 again!

Also all the screws have been cleaned and polished.

The hammers.

08th of February

My piano came with hammers that are worth keeping.

They are genuine Steinway hammers and there is sufficient thickness of felt left.

Over time, the pounding of hammers against the strings will dig grooves into the hammer felt. This causes the tone of the piano to loose clarity and become more harsh.

The hammers needed to be sanded until their original shape and aspect were found.

The soundboard.

3rd of January 2019

The soundboard is made of spruce. Over the years the wood slightly expands and shrinks due to differences in temperature and humidity which can cause crackling. One thin crack all along the middle section had to be fixed (see picture below).

I first had to slightly open the crack in order to insert and glue a shim.

I could then apply some glue and insert the shim in the grove.

Once the glue set, I shaped the shim.

The old varnish was discoloured and started to come off. I first removed the old varnish, slighly sanded the soundboard and varnished it again. After a few layers of varnish and sanding between coats, here is a "100 years old brand new soundboard"!