I currently have scheduled for rebuild and restoration a Heintzman
piano with the Otto Higel stack.
The last one I did was in a baby grand from England that appeared in
the shop that I was working in, in Denver, back in 1972. This action
was a hybrid, with aluminum pneumatics on wood chests (the London
model). At that time we had troubles finding pieces to fix the valves
with and, due to the extremely dry climate, it kept drying out a little
more and causing new leaks, as well as causing major tuning and action
problems. The shop owner didn't feel he could make his money back from
it by doing a complete rebuild of the piano. Many, many loose tuning
pins......etc. etc.
At any rate, as more Otto Higel actions appear, I would be interested
in the difficulties and problems incurred, as I'm not starting this one
for about three or four months. Maybe I can catch the difficult areas
first this time.
Thanks,
Dan Armstrong
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