[ Allen Scott wrote in 110101 MMDigest:

> Recently while browsing the 'Net for information on a Steinway XR,
> I found a company that restores and sells antique pianos, including
> player pianos:  http://www.antiquepianoshop.com/ 

Happy New Year everyone!  I have been doing player action work for
Antique Piano Shop for almost fifteen years now.   At first glance
$15,000 sounds like an awful lot of money for a player piano, but when
you break down the cost of a complete restoration -- restringing, hammer
action, and refinishing -- the profit margin even at those prices is
rather meager.

Antique Piano Shop also do a lot of shows at shopping malls.  These
setups are posh with oriental carpets, Tiffany floor lamps and potted
palms, which gives one the feeling that they are in the parlor of some
collector.

The recession hit them pretty hard.  Before 2008 I was doing about five
to seven players a year; in 2010 I only did two.

I can easily say that a fourth of the budget goes for the player work.
When I do an action for them, they want all the boards refinished and
all the parts polished, which time-wise is half the restoration process.
Also, many of these players have been butchered up in the 1970s, or
have humidity damage, which makes my job harder.

One of the interesting aspects of working for APS is that I have seen
some pretty exotic player actions, like Wing, Estey, Nelson, Eastonola,
just to name a few.

Brian Thornton - Short Mountain Music Works
Woodbury, Tennessee