Piano Repairs

Repairing a piano will involve considerable expense - some of the new parts are relatively inexpensive but, for example, if you wanted a set of new hammer-heads fitted, suddenly the price for the work soon begins to look like a serious amount of money. Sentimental reasons may push aside fears of overspending but if, after parting with a whole load of cash, the piano is still an untuneful and uninspiring instrument then the cost to honour a memory will seem to have missed the mark.

 

Of course, opinions will vary from technician to technician, but here are some guidelines for the careful piano owner who wishes to avoid overspending on their piano:

1. Assuming the piano to be repaired is an average, mid-range quality, regularly used and up to pitch. ...in this case there is scope for fairly extensive repair - some refelting, replacing of springs etc. but unless it is a family heirloom, do not have it completely rebuilt.
2. If the piano to be repaired is less than an average piano, straight-strung, overdamped, difficult to keep in tune, has numerous broken parts. ... in this case, spend any money upgrading the piano. If funds really don't stretch that far, find a tuner who will help you keep it going without charging you the earth. Any serious money spent on these pianos is money down the drain!
3. If the piano to be repaired is a top quality, named piano, total rebuilding, though expensive is not out of place. If the existing condition of the piano is tired and worn out, sometimes rebuilding is the only way to restore its sparkle. However, on a personal note, the older the piano, take extra care. ...in my opinion, only this kind of piano stands as a sensible candidate for the cost of rebuilding!

Are there exceptions to the rule?  

As ever, yes! Occasionally I meet with a piano which does not neatly fit into the categories mentioned above, but if it has enough of that difficult-to-define piano charm to set it apart from the ordinary, then go ahead. The last such piano for me was a very fine old French piano. Rare, and well-preserved, it did not need a complete rebuild. New hammerheads, new damper felts, kept the original strings and the result? All things considered, a good value-for-money option for the owners.

© Steve Burden 

  

Replacing Hammer Heads

Replacing Piano hammers is not a quickly done job. It can appear easy and straightforward to take off the old hammers and and replace them with new ones, but like everything else to do with a piano action, unless the job is done neatly and evenly, the end result will be a poorly sounding piano and a miserable technician! Not what you want after an expensive and time-consuming project.

The cost of a set of piano hammers is more than most people would like to spend on an interesting experiment. If the experiment goes wrong, you will have to spend more money get someone to fix it. A set of new hammer heads must match the old ones. A 5mm difference here or a slight change of angle there, will only guarantee you yet more hassle and grief to get the piano to play properly when you've done all the work.

The first job is to dismantle the action. (The job is similar for a grand piano but for the sake of clarity, the instructions here are for an upright piano.) Disconnecting tapes and taking off the levers will give good access to the hammer flange screws. Take the hammers off, place them on a tray and number them – just in case they, for some reason, get mixed up. Most new hammer heads come already bored - if your set is not already bored, you have yet another 'mountain' to climb. The secret of success in action work is in the precision and care with which it is carried out.  

Removing the old hammer heads from the shanks is done one at a time, using a special tool called a shank extractor. Some technicians like to leave guide hammers on the action so that the new hammers can be lined up to keep the same line as the old ones. Other technicians prefer to take exact measurements from the each hammer as it is being dealt with. If guide hammers are used, it is important to fit the right hammer head to these guide hammers. 

With the old head removed, the shank cleaned of old glue, (any broken shanks replaced) it is quite simple to glue the new hammer head onto the shank. It helps if the fit is firm and snug without being too tight. If the fit is on the tight side, take care not to twist the shank when fitting the new hammer head. Brittle, old shanks break easily.

When ready, refit the hammers back onto the action frame. The ‘noses’ of the new hammers heads should be in a nice straight line. There is a number of ways of replacing hammer heads, all of them are perfectly acceptable if done well. Fitting the hammer heads to new pianos is done in seconds, but away from the factory, dealing with replacement parts it is a much slower process. 

Putting the action back into the piano is the start of another set of very technical adjustments to ensure the proper working of the piano action.

Do not underestimate what is involved in getting a piano to work well. A change to any part in the fabric of the mechanism has a knock-on effect on the function of the action, how the piano plays, and how it sounds. 

If only replacing piano hammers were like replacing a failed light bulb! Then, any careful amateur could do it. But the reality is that replacing hammer heads is not really a job for the amateur - at least not without professional advice and help. 

At best, this article can only be an introduction to the very basics of the job. So please, be careful!

© Steve Burden