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Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to introduce myself and my project. This piano came recently into my possession through the sale of a house. The piano is in need of restoration which I have decided to do, not for profit, but for pleasure, and as a gift for my wife.

It is a lovely piece of furniture at the very least that has not been played or tuned in 15 years. I will soon be taking it to a shop for assessment and hopefully a lovely restoration.

A Brief history that is known:

- Bechstein model V Grand piano in Rosewood ( 6 ft 7in ) with double points at back
- Serial number not found yet, but case# 10667 (circa 1893-1897)
- Made in Germany and eventually showcased in London at Bechstein's Wigmore Hall location
- It was there in the 1920's that Bechstein's modified the Rosewood case to a more contemporary, less Victorian case design with straight legs.
- Either then, or at some point later the soundboard was replaced with an unstencilled soundboard and red felt was added. (I would say extremely unusual for Bechstein to have done this)
- The piano, owned by an English family relocated to Canada shortly before the outbreak of WW2
- The piano ended up in the Eaton's showroom in Montreal
- The last owner bought the piano in the 1950's and then moved to Ontario in the 1960s where she taught lessons on it until her passing in 2001
- Other than lots of dust, it looks fairly sound. No cracks or obvious repairs to the bridge frame.
- the only other markings yet found are in pencil: "Robinson, 15 Whittingham Drive. February 4, 1937."


http://imgur.com/f29ujYn
http://imgur.com/FGlMQ81
http://imgur.com/MpaYXIW
http://imgur.com/dyGZNQY
http://imgur.com/aFtyKH2

I wish I knew how to have the pictures displayed! Many Thanks!

Jason.

That's a beautiful case, for sure! Can't wait to hear more about your adventure in restoring the piano. I'm sure some others more knowledgable than I will give some advice. Just wanted to say it certainly looks beautiful, and based on the name alone is likely a world-class instrument lying in wait!

Nice looking piano! That is a nice size piano as well... rich low bass and strong upper treble.

Congratulations!

Rick

Congratulations! Looking forward to seeing (and eventually maybe hearing) more!

Nice!

Thanks for the replies all. I hope to update soon with more pics and maybe a video of the assessment. I really hope the case can be brought back to it's original Rosewood luster with a French Polish finish. You can't tell from the photos, but the last one to lay hands on it was a little bit of a brute... applying the stain in an almost faux-wood grain manner. Although it looks nice at first glance, it has flattened the rich depth that natural wood provides.

Thanks again

Jase.

The soundboard looks older than the 1920's. Are you sure they didn't replace the pin-block and strings and the original green under-string felt at that time?

It's quite possible it was done earlier. I had just assumed that a case upgrade might have included some form of soundboard refurbishment. The red felt is very old and threadbare in parts. I'll hopefully know more from a trained eye soon, but I'm having trouble getting the movers to respond quickly.

Jase.

Ah well, 'tis a sad day. I just got back from the shop and the piano is dead. And I can tell you the shop must be an honest bunch with lots of experience because I could not convince them to restore it an any way. They would have nothing of it, and they could have taken my money if they wanted!

There are 3 cracks in the bridge frame underneath. The sound board is actually original! Unfortunately that means it has many cracks and has lost it's domed shape. The pin board is terribly cracked and even split in one area. One of the beams underneath even has a crack developing. The action is completely original and therefore in terrible shape.

I guess it was my naivete and my passion for restoring cars that led me to believe that a piano with this kind of history deserves to "stay on the road". I am still stunned. I just can't get my head around the fact that this piano is not worth anything... that it is going to a landfill site.

I thought it was meant to be. I hope the house doesn't hate me for removing it, I tried my best!

However, I will continue to lurk amongst the forums and try to drink in as much knowledge as I can. I feel some sort of grand piano is due to fill our house. The money I was prepared to spend could buy a Wilhelm Schimmel perhaps? I must do some reasearch... Thanks again for the wonderful reasource!

Jase.

Oh, what a shame! Perhaps you could repurpose it into a bookcase (saw a photo of one somewhere, very nice!) or something else? The case looks beautiful to me!

Contact another rebuilder and get a second opinion.

Contact another rebuilder and get a second opinion.

Talk to Rich Galassini at Cunningham Piano. I have seen amazing Bechsteins in their restoration shop. Rich likes to use the term "remanufactured."

Dave, thanks very much for the tip. I actually ended up talking to Peter at Cunningham briefly this morning and he seemed extremely up to the task and was in no way discouraged, he had a number and a timeline right away for me. That made me feel like they really knew what they could be up against and every part of the guts was going to get the treatment. He sent a link to a video to the show "How it is made" that featured their shop and restoration process:

How it's made - Cunningham Piano

However, on further conversation when I revealed that mine did not look as bad as the video, but my cast iron plate had cracks... well, that's when he told me it's dead. Ah well. I tried my best.

Thanks again everyone. I feel much better having tried to get other opinions and try different avenues!

Jason.

This is heartbreaking!

Can you post pictures of the cracks and point out where they are?

Pictures would be nice, so that others can profit from your experience.

Frame cracks can be repaired, fairly cheaply. To repair frame cracks in the context of a full restoration only adds a few hundred pounds (UK) to the over all price. I suppose it depends where the cracks are and how much money you have to spend.

I'm curious how a cracked plate is repaired, how long it would last, and how it would affect the sound. I would personally be terrified to spend the amount of money needed for a full rebuild to end up with a piano with a cracked plate that's been repaired. Most especially if multiple rebuild shops have said they won't touch it. Is a cracked plate a common repair?

It's fairly common depending on where the crack is, it can be repaired using a technique called cold stitch welding. I've seen it done now on a few pianos, and it seems to work. Whether or not it holds over time I've no idea, but it seems to work.