Our Steinway Grand Piano Deconstructed...

The restoration of our iconic 1940 Steinway grand piano has officially begun. Now that the piano has left Studio770 and set sail on its journey to restoration, we can take a look at the progress that has been made so far. This is the piano deconstructed...

First the "action" (keyboard with hammers, etc.) was removed.

Now officially out of "action" !!!

All dampers had to be individually unscrewed from the lever mechanism and removed.

The strings (which create 45,000 lbs of pressure) were then slowly loosened over the course of a day. After that, the strings were then cut (as seen in picture above).

The pins were then removed from the pin block.

Next the large screws and bolts connecting the frame to the inside of the piano were removed. By the way, the bolts, screws, and many of the small frame fittings will be sent out to be chromed. The new chrome pins will match the fittings.

This is an unusual picture of the removal of the 30 small tubes of superglue that I had injected around the pins over 15 years ago. This was a last resort trick that I learned from a piano technician and surprisingly enough it actually held the pins in place until recently. The piano refinisher had to drill out as much glue as possible, then soak the pin block in a solution overnight as it was adhered to the metal frame.

The metal frame (harp) will be repainted in the traditional Steinway gold color with the addition of all raised lettering being hand painted black. The large bolts will of course be chrome to match the other bolts and screws.

Here is the pin block and soundboard after removing the metal frame.

The soundboard will be stripped down and refinished with all small cracks repaired. Notice the metal frame (harp) in the background.

Here is the harp after being hoisted out of the piano's wooden casing.

Here is the backside of the harp with the part number and serial number and a mystery name written on the back of the frame in 1940.

Stay tuned for future updates on how our Steinway's journey is going and keep an eye out for upcoming posts as progress develops.