Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Who makes wet-sand-cast piano plates?

I know that O.S. Kelly, now owned by Steinway, is a major wet-sand plate manufacturer. But I don't think they have a world-wide monopoly. Who are the other manufacturers, and where are they located?

O.S. Keely foundry casts iron frames for steinway, grotrian steinweg, and charles walter (mason & hamlin owners might know where their pianos' plates were cast ?) boesendorfer sources theirs from Austria, Bluethner, Bechstein. Steingraeber und Soehne use wet sand cast plates as well, and would probably respond with particulars if asked.

I am pretty sure Hailun pianos also have wet cast plates.

Kohler could likely do it if you give them the pattern. They do some large bathtubs. IDK that anybody really needs an additional foundry here in the U.S. Cavendish in the U.K. has to source their plates from Germany.

I have a friend who has anvils cast in the USA. I expect the company who does those could do piano frames.

Especially for Götterdämmerung performances

Ian

You are correct. Hailun does use wet-sand-cast plates in their grands. Do they have their own foundry, or do they buy from an outside supplier? If they use an outside source, do you know who it is?

Cavendish pianos here in the UK are about to start using frames cast here in Scotland by Ballantine Castings.

I've never heard of Cavendish pianos, Joe. Have you played them? What are they like?

For what it's worth, Rubenstein pianos use CNC water-cut welded steel plates.

See Rubenstein R-371

Paul.

Ha ha, Philip! Very funny. It's not that simple.

Seriously, you pwn some Bechstein and Bluthner pianos. Do you know who makes their plates?

Anvils indeed are not that simple. They can be all steel, or cast iron with steel faces. Cast iron alone would break like pottery.

I'm glad to hear it.

How many do you need?

Joe, I understand that Cavendish is one of two piano manufacturers left in the U.K. What is the name of the 2nd manufacturer?

Isn't it Phoenix, the one with all the high tech carbon fiber?

an anvil is essential for the Siegfried chapter of the Ring cycle, i.i.r.c., preceding Goetterdaemmerung.

Not to mention Il Trovatore!

I thought Phoenix pianos were modified Steingraebers. I don't think they would be considered a "manufacturer".

That was my first thought.

Almaviva,

Hailun indeed makes their own frames (plates). We were directly involved in casting new frames for the Matchless Cunningham design. Here is a photo of Tim Oliver, my business partner, with the basswood "prototype" that we gave final approval to the "scale" of the Matchless Cunningham. This piano is assembled by Hailun:



Left - Frank Emerson, scale designer Middle - Tim Oliver Right - Kurt Weissman