At Taylor Piano Restorations we do offer Piano Moving of all kinds of pianos.

We also suggest if you are moving your piano that you  use a qualified Piano Mover. Whether it is an individual or a piano moving company it is the safest and best way to have your Piano moved.

If you have a out of state or long distance move, we can offer help with that.

 

 

 At Taylor Piano Restorations we do refinishing for
all types of pianos.

Some refinishing is part of a restoration project or for a customer just wanting their family piano to look nice again. We like to look at all pianos first and appraise the piano to make sure if just refinishing the piano will also be able to function and hold its value. Some pianos have sentimental valve and that’s different and will be discussed more in restoration.

Refinishing includes cleaning the brass or replating the hardware, all decals, buttons and needed screws. In refinishing we start by stripping the piano parts and body to a very clean original wood.Then lots of sanding before we add the wood paste filler. This fills the pores to give a level finish. Stain the piano and start applying the finish. Sanding between coats, then after the finale coat, hand rubbing to finish. After the piano has be assembled, the piano is delivered, which is included in the refinishing project.

 

 

 

 

Restoration takes on a wide range of what the amount of work is. We define total restoration as replacing everything but the case and the plate. Most restoration work does not always need that much work and also depends on what the customer is looking for as a finished product. The value of doing restoration can depend on a lot of factors. First a family piano that has been handed down over the years and because of the sentimental value the family wants to restore the piano to its original condition or so that it functions as a good instrument or just want it to look better. They want the work done because they are going to keep the piano, even if ithas no finical value, for sentimental reasons want this piano. Second, would be the piano has value like for example a Steinway & Sons Grand, because of the name and the way it was manufactured give it great financial value and make restoration a better option than buying new. Because of the savings of the restoration over the new purchase price and that also continues to keep the value high. Below, we will discuss the parts of the restoration work, which also could be a part of just a repair.

New Pinblock: The installation of a new pinblock increases the longevity of the piano and improves tuning stability over many years. A pinblock’s life can be anywhere from 40 to 70 years. And we start with the pinblock because it is the heart of the piano if the piano won’t stay in tune that decreases value greatly.

Repinning: In Restoration work repining would be defined as new tuning pins in a new pinblock. In a repair job where nthe piano will not hold a tuning it would be new oversize pin in the original pin block.



Restringing: Restringing is replacing the strings (wire) with new strings. Piano Wire is in different diameters, and the groups of different diameters create the scale of the piano. This scale is taken and noted and used for the restringing process.

Sounding board: First, a sounding board can be replaced with a new sounding board and bridges (what the strings cross over to transmit the vibrations to the board). Thenew board will add better quality sound and tone of the piano, but very costly. Most restoration we use the original board, we heat it up for a time to see if it will split and crack then repair those splits and cracks with spruce shims and glue up the ribs underneath if necessary. Then the board is sanded and a new finish put on it. New decals are used if they were there before.

Dampers: In the restoration process or a repair, when new strings are used you must replace the damper felt. The new felt will seed into the new strings. In grand pianos this also includes cleaning the old felt off the damper heads, the cleaning the heads and wires. After the piano is strung and there is tension on the piano the dampers are reinstalled in the piano with new damper felt. During the requlation process the damper system is requlated.
Rebronze Plate: In this part of the process after the pin block is made the cast iron plate is cleaned and prepare for rebronzing. First step to apply primer, second to apply the color at this time decals and lettering is done, and then the finish coats are applied.

Key Work: If a piano has ivory keys the ivory is cleaned or sanded and polished. Old plastic key tops or an ivory set with broken and missing pieces, these tops are replaced with new key tops. Capstans are cleaned and we check the key bushings for wear. If the key bushings are to worn they will be replaced.

Action Part Replacement: In some actions, all of the action parts are replaced. Those parts are the wippens, Hammer shanks and Flanges and Hammers. Replacing these parts help with the touch and tone quality. In some repair work it might be some of the parts replaced so that the action performs better. That work, you might only change the shanks, flanges and hammers. In some cases the back action can be replaced, this action is behind the regular action and is the part of the piano that makes the dampers do their job.

Key Frame: Key frames during restoration are cleaned and key pins polished and felt punching reinstalled. This work is prep work to replace the keys after their done and the regulation begins. The key frame is then regulated to fit the key bed.

Regulation: Regulation is the process to make the action and keys work properly or in some cases to meet the needs of the pianist. This is done by working with the mathematics and geometry, then at a certain point using sight and feel.

Tone Regulation: This is working with the piano and the Hammers to get the best to and response out of the piano. We call this voicing and we start with voicing the piano, making sure strings are seeded on the bridge at the hitch pin and V bar and that the strings are level. Voicing hammer has several techniques depending on where you need to take the tone. Some methods are needling, sanding, squeezing, and tapping.