Bösendorfer grand piano
A photo gallery of the renovation
History
My Bösendorfer grand piano was built in 1953 and had stood in a conservatory for 30 years. As a consequence, direct sunlight and wide fluctuations in humidity and temperature had taken its toll on the instrument. When I first inspected the piano in October 2001, it was completely unplayable. The outside wooden casing was faded and the varnish was damaged in several places. Not only was it entirely out of tune but many keys were also stuck - if you pressed one, sometimes five or six keys other keys went down as well. However, the soundboard and the iron frame were in order, so I decided to purchase the grand piano and renovate it.
The renovation began in January 2002 and was completed in July 2002.
The following repair work was carried out:
All the woodwork was cleaned, sanded down and oiled.
The metal frame was removed, cleaned and painted bronze.
The soundboard was cleaned.
A completely new set of strings was installed.
A new set of hammers was installed.
The damper felt was replaced.
The whole mechanism was overhauled.
This included replacing the felt, checking pivots, and many other adjustments.
