Hello, Darren, you wrote in 991227 MMD, "Seek Player Action For
Cable Company Piano":

> I have recently purchased (for $50) a piano made by The Cable
> Company. ...  Should I have the guts repaired first, or refinish
> it first?

In my opinion, the first thing you should do is to have a complete
evaluation of the piano done by a piano technician who is familiar with
rebuilding/restoration of old pianos.

Common problems with old pianos are:

1.  Cracks in pinblocks and soundboards and bridges

2.  Ribs separating from the soundboard causing buzzes and other
unwanted noises

3.  Bridges coming unglued, causing loss of tone

4.  Loose tuning pins making the piano untuneable

5.  Rusty treble strings and dead or dull sounding bass strings

6.  Rust and other stains on the plate, and understring cloth that
is discolored and worn

7.  Chipped, damaged, or missing ivories and keytops

8.  Worn out actions, including worn out hammers, broken or missing
action parts

9.  Springs that are weak and function poorly at best, including jack
springs, hammer return springs and damper lever springs

10.  Leather and cloth and felt parts become worn out, or dirty, or
damaged by insects and rodents, and so need to be replaced.  This would
include all action cloth, damper felt, hammer rail cloth, spring rail
cloth, key bushings, and cloth punchings and backrail cloth under the
keys


In my opinion, these problems should be taken care of before even
thinking of refinishing the exterior of the piano.  The case is purely
cosmetic and won't make the piano play or sound better.  If you re-
finish the piano before doing the work on the guts of the piano, you
run the risk of having a beautifully finished piece of wood that is
not worth anything as a musical instrument.

Too many times I have come to pianos with a beautiful exterior, only to
find that the piano was not even tuneable.  The soundboard, bridges and
pinblock of the piano should be in good condition before thinking of
refinishing.

If you refinish first, be prepared to reserve another $3,000.00 to
$5,000.00 in your budget to pay a rebuilder to make sure that the
interior of the piano is in top-notch condition as well.  This cost
could go to over $10,000.00 if you need to have a new soundboard
installed as well as a new set of keys and a new action.


When refinishing the piano, my best advice is to have a professional do
the work for you.  If the refinishing is something you will be doing
yourself, here are some hints.

1.  Each case part should be removed and stripped and refinished
separately.  I have seen a number of pianos that were refinished by
the piano owner, but the case parts had not been removed first.  When
the piano is opened for tuning and servicing, the case parts often have
to be cut apart with a sharp knife because the finish effectively glued
the wood together.

2.  Brass hardware, such as pedals and hinges, should be removed and
cleaned and buffed, and coated with a clear finish, such as brass
lacquer.  Nickel plated hardware, such as pedals, should be cleaned and
buffed to a high shine (every scratch and imperfection should be buffed
out), and then these parts should be plated by someone who specializes
in custom nickel plating work.

3.  Make sure to use protective gear, such as heavy rubber gloves
and eye goggles, while stripping the old finish.  Make sure to wear
a respirator while working with any solvents or hazardous chemicals,
such as lacquer, and lacquer thinner.  The fumes may make the immediate
job seem like a psychedelic dream from the 60's, but you run the risk
of permanent lung and brain damage if you inhale the fumes.

4.  Think about how you will dispose of any leftover stripper and other
hazardous chemicals.  It would be better not to leave them just sitting
around the garage shelves, and you definitely should not pour them into
the gutter where these chemicals will get into the ground water.

> 2.  Am I likely to find a player for it, and what might one cost
> to purchase and install?

I cannot answer this question for you.  If the piano already had a
player that needed complete restoration, the cost to restore the player
only would be at least several thousand up to many thousands of dollars
for a complicated or rare player system.  If the player is missing, you
need to add the cost of the time to find the player, the purchase price,
and transportation costs.  I have no idea of which player would work
for your piano and what it would cost, or even where to find one.

I recently inspected an old upright player with the player missing, and
I basically condemned the piano, because of the overall poor condition
of the piano.  The fact that the piano was not an heirloom piece (i.e.,
it had no particular personal value to the customer) made my job of
condemning the piano easier.  The fact that the player was missing was
the final straw on the camel's back, so to speak.

> 3.  The keys appear to be ivory, but are discolored and chipped;
> replace, or what?

Ivory key tops will come in three pieces.  There is a head piece, and
a tail piece (the thinner piece at the back of the key that goes in
between the black keys) and a front piece.  The front piece will often
be celluloid or another type of early plastic.  If the ivories are all
there but are discolored, it is possible to whiten or bleach them, and
then sand and polish the keys.

If there are more than half a dozen or a dozen ivory pieces missing,
I usually advise customers that the cost of getting new plastic keytops
will be about the same as having the missing ivory slips replaced.  If
there are small chips in the ivory, it is possible to do an almost
invisible repair that will fill the chipped place.  The procedure and
materials for chipped ivory repair are sold by a fellow RPT member of
the Piano Technicians Guild under the name AcryliKey.  Please write if
you would like this information.


I live in Joplin, Missouri, just about four hours away, but that is
still quite a distance to travel.  I would suggest calling a local
piano technician.  I have three good friends in Wichita KS who are
Registered Piano Technicians, and any one of them could do a complete
evaluation of your piano and advise you about finding and rebuilding
the player.  I am sending these names in a private e-mail.

Indispensable books:

  The Piano Book, by Larry Fine
  Piano Servicing, Tuning and Rebuilding, by Art Reblitz
  Player Piano Servicing and Rebuilding, by Art Reblitz

Art Reblitz is on the MMD list.  These are very helpful books that you
MUST own.  (No I don't get any commission for telling you about these
books!)  In addition, here are some web pages to search:

This is my web page with info about pianos.  I have several articles
that I have written listed on this page:
  http://www.clandjop.com/~dkvander/piano.html

This is a list of Registered Piano Technicians with the Piano
Technicians Guild:  http://www.ptg.org/rptlist.htm

This is a list of Technical Writings on the PTG web page:
  http://www.ptg.org/tech.htm

Best Wishes and Good Luck!

David Vanderhoofven, Joplin, Missouri
Registered Piano Technician
Piano Technicians Guild Chapter #641 (Kansas City Chapter)
http://www.clandjop.com/~dkvander/piano.html