1. Approaches to Restoring Early Square Pianos
Lessons from the trenches

2. Class objective
You cannot learn all that you would need to learn about restoring early pianos in 1 ½ hours! This is a life’s work for the very best restorers, who only began to understand the processes involved after doing a great many of these.
We CAN gain an appreciation for what we are seeing when first looking at an early piano, evaluate the condition, and connect the client needs to the best resource.

3. 99% of your work will typically be on pianos less than 140 years old.
They are far more common
They are required for anything like a typical ‘piano’ sound
Early pianos were built/imported in volumes of less than 2000 per year nationally before 1830 – only ~4% of these survive, or about 80 from all makers for any given year
More than half of all that survive are in specialized institutions – you just won’t be asked to service them often!

4. However -
The ‘great American square piano’ dating from ~1855 to 1890 does remain in greater numbers.
They are encountered in every state from nearly pristine inside, to total wrecks.
And…

5. They “just need tuning!”

6. What you were expected to accomplish for $125.00 and two hours time… 

7. Managing expectations of the client
Unless you specialize in early piano repair and restoration, you are probably going to need to act as the intermediary for any work needed for really early pianos
Most square and grand pianos from any period were actually excellent instruments originally – for what they were built and intended to be. The notion that all square pianos are trash is a myth
But – they may well require more from you than you normally need to do, so it is important to alert your client up front about this and quote accordingly. Avoid a high-dollar surprise invoice!

8. Identifying what you are dealing with
The most commonly encountered square piano dates to after They will have a full iron plate, felt hammers, and axel & bushing action. If kept in good condition and recently serviced within the last 10 years, these are not usually challenging to work on.

9. Evaluation approach
Is the name cast in the plate? Unnamed pianos may indicate they were inexpensive to begin with and will likely be poor candidates to restore. Exceptions do exist though (early Knabe, etc.)
Has it been restored? Shiny copper bass strings and bright red or green felt is a dead giveaway. This is not a bad sign unless the work looks sloppy or hastily done.
If original, are the strings simply dull grey or very rusty? Does the action mostly work? How bad is the bug/rodent damage? How badly worn does it look? Have the ‘kids’ been hard at it?

10. Evaluation approach
If the piano is a by a good maker (well represented in Pierce for instance), substantially intact, and largely playing through, it may need only a service call
If it has sat in pristine conditions for decades but unplayed, it will likely need additional work so plan for this up front
Multiple broken strings, missing natural or accidental key tops, broken legs, etc. usually spells trouble.

11. Servicing the late 19th C square piano
The action is typically a variation of the two main actions in use at the time

13. Moderator

14. Servicing the late 19th C square piano
Very late squares have a small version of the Erard double escapement similar to what you are familiar with in grand pianos.

15. Possible Show stoppers
Possible Show stoppers* * Any piano can be brought back to life with sufficient time and money. Just sayin’….

16. Weak points in the frame – look for cracking

17. Original poor condition strings

18. Vandalism – in this cae, dampers

19. Insect damage – typically all cloth and felt will be affected
Insect damage – typically all cloth and felt will be affected. Felt covered hammers harden w/time

20. Case Making Moth

21. Woodworm

22. Look for rodent damage / nests

23. Lead acetate swelling

24. How to draw action
Usually three screws underneath

25. ~1828 to 1854 Iron string plate and brace only
English double action or American square action
Clearly smaller (typically 6 octave) & may have leather hammer/underlever hinges, vellum jack hinges

26. English double action

27. English double action

28. Potential pitfalls All above except no iron frame.
Twisted case, poor tuning stability.
Additional perishable materials like leather hinges.
Far more likely to have age/damage issues.

29. Broken leather hinges – replace all

30. Replacing leather hinges – soaking off the keepers

31. Replace out with correct leather – tanning, thickness and stretch is critical

32. Return them in order. When possible replace every other hammer to preserve spacing

33. Very Early Square Pianos 1766-1828
Action is usually English single or English double

34. Very Early square pianos 1766-1828
It’s like nothing you’ve seen before.
Everything hand crafted, and specialty replacement of materials required.
“Chicken Coup” Longman & Broderip 1791

35. They can make excellent instruments, but only after many hundreds of hours.

37. Tapering a twenty penny nail

44. Materials choice critical to success
Wire from Malcolm Rose in UK, Stephen Birkett in Canada
Leather from Lucy Coad, UK
Cloth from Graham Walker, UK
Tuning pins cleaned or hand made from 20 penny nails
Iron parts hand fashioned from thicknessed strip stock and plate
Spruce, Honduras mahogany (Greener Lumber), and tropical woods such as kingwood, tulip wood, satinwood, recycled Brazilian rosewood, etc.
See Friends of Square Pianos; earlypiano.co.uk; squarepianotech.com for sourcing help and detailed techniques.

45. How to provide your client with additional information about the maker
The Clinkscale Early Piano Database is a comprehensive database of early pianos to Use this database to find information on the really early pianos. Biographies now online.
Pierce Piano Atlas is useful but badly flawed for early instruments/small makers. Useful for late 19th and 20th C instruments.
Online resources of variable use. Antique Piano Shop has useful information, but not academically vetted. squarepianotech.com is helpful with early pianos.
Write to the experts: American Musical Instrument Society Listserv AMIS-L-

46. FAQ Q - Who makes parts for early pianos?
A – Primarily, you must, though there are friends to help with the very early piano. See references
Q – How do I know what material was right for a particular piano?
A – The listed people are usually quick to offer suggestions for a piano of a given date. The later the piano, the more easily ‘modern’ materials will work.
Q – My old hammer heads are badly grooved, must they be replaced?
A – While replacement is often the right choice, try lightly brushing the hammer heads with a steel brush first. Brush out the grooves, trim the edges, and check for sound.

47. FAQ Q - How do I make the key tops white again?
A – While it is best to wipe them individually with a soapy rag and dry, but try to reverse coloring, they can in fact be lightened with peroxide and UV. Total replacement hurts historical value, but ugly key tops discourage saving pianos.
Q – How much ‘lost motion’ is correct for a given piano?
A – It varies, from quite a lot in an English single action, to none in a late square piano. Usually if you have an English double action or later, there is almost no lost motion.

48. FAQ Q – How should we treat old uprights?
A – The very early ones, from ~1800 to ~1840 are rarely encountered if at all. From you may see additional uprights and they can be handled much like squares.
After 1870 there are many thousands of American uprights still around. Service the best and reject the rest. Very early uprights are of historical interest however, so we would appreciate hearing about them.

49. Thank You!