FIX IT,
RESTORE IT,
AND TUNE IT
YOURSELF !!
Also
called
"Table of Contents"
You
are looking at an old Emerson from the
1890s. This piano looks terrible, but
it appears
to have no serious damage to the cabinet, and
no veneer is
broken. If the tuning pins are tight
enough to hold a tuning, it is a great
candidate
for restoration. A natural wood finish would
look great. Our
customers are doing these
pianos on a regular basis. We
offer instruction in restoration and repair of
old pianos and new. Our Catalog
contains every-
thing you will need to help and old lady like this
make
sweet music.
"Beethoven
wrote in three flats a lot.
That's because he moved twice."
Victor Borge From
the book Copyrighted by Steve Van Nattan
© Copyrighted by Stephen Van
Nattan- 1996
HTML of site © Copyrighted by Stephen Van Nattan- 2001
All theft will be subject to prosecution
Some copying of my material will
be allowed.. IF YOU...
Ask before you copy anything | SEARCH
THE WHOLE SITE: |
 Isaiah
38:20 The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed
instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD.
| Habakkuk
3:19 The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and
he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed
instruments. | I
think it is interesting that the prophet Habakkuk invented his own stringed instruments.
The piano is merely a very large harp. Have any of you readers invented
your own stringed instruments? |
INTRODUCTION
This is the Table
of Contents to a book for Do-it-Yourselfers. It is uncluttered by splash
and frills so that you can concentrate on getting the job done. The book tells
you in plain language how to care for and repair your piano. This Table
of Contents will lead you through the book. Also, in our Online
Catalog you can order parts and tools to use in repairing your piano.
You will notice some of
the buttons below are indented. That means they are sub-headers under a
major Chapter or topic.
 I am available to you
by E-Mail to answer questions-- Dumb questions - Smart
questions
"HELP" questions--
And, I try to get back to you tomorrow!
And it's FREE!
We also give you the catalog
free and up front-- Online.
ENJOY. |
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the music here. |
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you may bring up the music
browsing page. 
ORDER BY PHONE WITH A CREDIT CARD
Toll Free Number for ordering: 1 (800) 338-8863
OR:
Go
to Mail Order Form for printing:
OR:
Pay
by PayPal
Email address
to use to send payment:
keith@stevespianoservice.com
Ordering
Customers CALL: (800) 338-8863
This dedicated
number is for questions if you intend to order.
For Technical support CALL: (906) 864-1437
If you bought
your parts elsewhere, kindly ask that seller for technical support
 UP
FRONT
 WARNING: Please
read this.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS:
For Online and CD Users
All of the following is on The
CD, and much more!
The
Catalog and Repair Contents are now much more inter-linked.
PROFESSIONAL
PIANO TUNING INSTRUCTIONS
Only
on the CD NEW
SECTION:
PIANO AND ORGAN MOVING INSTRUCTIONS
Chapter
One- GETTING
TO KNOW YOUR PIANO Introduction:
What are my qualifications?
Music
Entropy
Requirements
Chapter
Two- THE PIE-ANNA
Introduction to
Piano Care
The
Piano as Furniture
Grands
Spinets
Uprights
You
got ta get da polish
Keys
Keep keys white by
controlling light Chapter
Three- DO I HAVE A GOOD PIANO?
What is a good piano
Which is the best Piano? Chapter
Four- MAINTAINING YOUR PIANO YOURSELF
1. Tuning Your Piano
2.
How often should a piano be tuned?
3.
When should a piano be tuned?
4.
Hints to help make the tuning last through the year
5.
Courtesy to your tuner
6. Adjusting the Action
7.
Moving a Piano
8. Know Thy Tuner
9. Checking the Tuning
10. Free
Words of Wisdom Department
Chapter
Five- GETTING TO WORK- OPENING YOUR PIANO
Opening Your Piano--
Uprights
Removing the Upright Action
Removing a Spinet "Drop
Action"
Want to remove the keys?
The Grand Opening
Removing the
key cover
"Front Board" (Unofficial name) Or, Key Slip
Removing the Grand
action
Re-installing the action
Chapter
Six- TROUBLE SHOOTING YOUR PIANO
A. A key sticks down
B. Two keys stick together
as they go up and down
C. Key lever stays Down
Or, Key broke
D. Dead Hammer OR, Stalled
in A Including Bridle Strap Replacement
E. Jack the Slipper OR,
Hit and miss key strokes,
and
double blows of the hammers
F. Limber Neck OR, Floppy
Hammers
G. A Hammer broke off
H. Straighten a crooked
hammer
I. Loose Tuning Pins
J. Squeak, Thump, Rattle,
and Twang Chapter
Seven- COMMON REPAIRS A LA
CARTE The
following are sub-topics under Chapter Seven:
1. Aligning grand piano
hammers 2.
Back check repair 3. Bench Repair
4. Bench- Upholstering
as an option 5. Board just under the
keys in front 6. Bridge and Agraffe
Repair Bridle
Strap Replacement 7. Broken wire emergency
8. Buckskin replacement
9. Buying a piano
10. Casters- Replacing
and servicing
10.5 Center Pin Repair and Installation
And
Flange Bushing Replacement 11. Clatter and buzz prevention
12. Cleaning the grand
sound board 13. Cleaning the Upright
Piano 14. Damper repair
15. Decal Application
(See
also: Name Decal Application) 16. Desk repair- Spinet,
Upright, and Grand 17. Dismantling or Destruction
of a piano 18. Fire damage
19. French quaver voice
20. Front board warped
21. Hammer Back Rest
22. Falling out of the
piano 23. Hangs up on Pedal
Stick Hammers-
24. Bending crooked hammers on uprights
25. Hammer- Broken
26. Repairing Hammers using a Brass Sleeve
27. Hammer- Broken- Replacing
Includes
instruction on reattaching the
felt
head of the hammer to the wood molding
28. Hammers-
Grand- Alignment 29. Hammers- Voicing and Buffing
30. Harp- Broken
31. Harp- Cracked, but
not broken 32. Jack- Loose and repair
33. Jack spring replacement
34. Key dip adjustment-
too much or too little 35. Key leveling and
Key
Lever Restoration Kit Instructions
36. Key tops- White and
Black Replacement
and
Key Top Restoration Kit Instructions
37. Key Lever Repair
38. Key tops- ivory replacement
39. Key tops- cleaning
40. Key won't depress
on Grand 41. Loose pins
42. Lost motion- Adjusting
to eliminate it 43. Lyre repair on Grands
44.
Moth, Mildew, and Fire Damage and Smoke Odor
45.
Name Decal Application 46. Pedal and trap repair
47. Pedal- Grand- Key
bed fails to return when soft pedal pushed 48. Piano tuner- How do
I become one? 49. Piano use outdoors
50. Pin Block Separating
from frame repair 50.5 Pin Block Replacement--
This
is a link to a Web Site on pin block restoration
51. Plastic parts crisis
 52. Refinishing the cabinet
52.5 Restringing a piano
53. Rubber Bumper replacement
54. School Pianos- Care
and Defense 55. Selling a piano
56. Sound Board- Cleaning
in Grand 57. Sound board- Repairing
cracks and Improvised Crown Restore 58. Storing a piano
59. Tuning- Do it Yourself
60. Tuning pins- Tightening
61. Vagias elbow replacement
62. Veneer repair
63. Varmint prevention
64. Wire- Replacement
of a broken one 65. Wires- Turning to
brighten tone 66. Wood frame loose on
bottom
PLAYER PIANOS 67. Maintaining player
pianos 68. Varmints, Lubrication
of Player Pianos 69. Adjustment of Player
Pianos 70. Bellows repair
in Player Pianos 71. Get a stalled
Player going again
72. Square (rectangular) grands
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION WITH MY E-MAILED ANSWERS
73. FAQ Page from E-Mailed Questions and Answers
PIANO MOVING, INSTRUCTIONS, AND SUPPLIES
74. NEW SECTION:
PIANO AND ORGAN MOVING INSTRUCTIONS
TRADITIONAL
PIANO MOVING SKIDS, STRAPS, AND SUPPLIES
MOVING
PADS, STRAPS, SHRINK WRAP, AND CARRYING SUPPLIES
Ordering Parts and Tools
Piano Parts and Tools Catalog
Schaff Tuning Levers
-- Tuning
Meters
READ BOOKS POSTED HERE FREE
These
books are a start. We hope to have more music and piano servicing books soon.
Also,
these books are out of copyright, so you may copy them. Please leave the credit
to
Gutenburg Project on the front page where it is found. PIANO
MASTERY
Talks
with Master Pianists and Teachers
By
Harriette Brower PIANO
TUNING
A
Simple and Accurate Method for Amateurs
J.
CREE FISCHERPIANO
AND SONG
How
to Teach, How to Learn
FRIEDRICH WIECKTHE
PIANOFORTE SONATA
Its
Origin and Development
J.S. SHEDLOCK
(Load this on your laptop,
and set it on
the piano desk, and learn to master the sonata)
WE WILL DO THE REPAIR FOR YOU BY MAIL:
CLICK
HERE TO LEARN MORE
Appendix One- Professional Tuning Instruction--
only on the CD
Professional
Tuning Instruction now in Printed Format
We
now give you Stretch Charts to use with our tuning meters
Appendix Two- Electronic Organs and Desperate Acts
Appendix Three- Pump Organs and Desperate Acts
Updates
and Forum Here is our idea exchange, along with your repair reports.
Diagrams
of Piano Actions Bibliography
Index
Epistle
to Piano Tuners LINKS:
Time Line History of
the Piano
http://www.concertpitchpiano.com/TimeLine.html
Look
at various tasks in restoration of a piano:
http://pianos.hartmanstudios.net/Info/photos.htm
Some shop
pictures of piano repair:
http://www.pianoman.bc.ca/shopPictures.htm Other
tasks in piano work:
http://rcraftsmen.com/moxie/pianos/process/step10.shtml
Piano
Technician's Guild forum-- Highly valuable:
http://www.ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech/
The Steinway
Story in brief-- Interesting:
http://www.sherwinbeach.com/lenehan/K2571.htm
If you
feel lost or at a dead end and would prefer to have help
from a man in the
trade-- CLICK HERE
Load Robert Scott's TuneLab 97- 2.0-- Shareware--
$34
This software only available on the CD we sell.
This is the
best deal in professional tuning PC software.
The complete program is here.
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OR:
Go to Mail Order Form for printing:
OR:
Pay
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Email
address to use to send payment:
steve@balaams-ass.com
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