Opus IV Keyboard: All has not been lost

With a bit of patience and perseverance, I have successfully restored the keyboard and keyframe, which was badly damaged due to a flooded workshop.

The walnut keytops and cherry arcades have been re-glued to the levers, and with the installation of the walnut cheek-blocks, key cloth and keyframe front molding, it is now ready for installation.

It was necessary for me to adopt a different attitude and mindset in the restoration of this once finished and perfectly functioning keyboard, which I had considered to be the finest I had yet built.

Having done countless restorations of keyboards and keyframes from harpsichords,  clavichords, virginals and fortepianos, as well those from modern pianos,  this was a project that I simply had to approach as yet another restoration of a damaged keyboard, setting aside the frustration I felt with having to restore a keyboard I had so recently completed.

Opus IV: Saving the keyboard

Having allowed the waterlogged keyboard and frame to dry out for a month, it appears that I will be able, after all, to rebuild it.
The walnut keytops have been removed, numbered, and prepped for regluing, and the keylevers appear to have suffered less damage than I had previously thought, save for some staining at the balance points, the result of the balance pins having rusted.
I have polished the guide and balance pins, rebuilt a slightly warped keyframe, and have begun the process of regluing the natural keytops onto the keylevers.
The prospect of building an entirely new keyboard was, to say the least, demoralizing, however, I am quite optimistic that I will be able to resurrect the original keyboard, a tedious, yet far less time consuming task than building a new one from scratch.

A bit of a setback

I discovered, in the aftermath of a flooded basement/workshop, that the keyboard for my Opus IV harpsichord has been destroyed.  Fortunately, the instrument itself, along with my tools and machines, suffered no harm.

The making of the keyboard, an extremely time consuming process, represents the birth of an instrument, as it is the first thing I make for a new instrument.

While it will indeed be a challenge to duplicate the dimensions of this keyboard, I am quite confident that I will be able to accomplish this task, with the hope that the new keyboard will be even better than the original.

Despite this very disappointing setback, my Opus IV will one day sing.

Making progress

Having installed the soundboard, rose, lower guides, bridges, etc., I am now preparing to glue the bottom onto my instrument.
(Click on image to enlarge.)

Opus IV hitchpin rail

The bridges, 4' hitchpin rail, and soundboard have now been marked and installed.  Pictured above is the installation of the 8' hitchpin rail, which is comprised of two separate sections, and the inner case molding at the treble end.
As is the case with many instrument makers and craftsmen, I am loathe to dispose of even the most trivial bits and pieces of wood, ivory, and potentially useful bits and pieces of instruments that I have acquired over the years.
While a few of these instruments have been disposed of, as they were not in a state where restoration was practical or even possible, I managed to locate a simple, brass rose which I salvaged from a poorly constructed,
incomplete Zuckermann straight side, commonly known as a "Z Box."

I hope that it would offer the well intentioned maker of this instrument some consolation in knowing that while his instrument is no longer in existence, at least one small part of it shall live on in the instrument which I am now building.

Pleyel harpsichord

I am currently engrossed in the restoration of a Pleyel harpsichord for the Harpsichord Clearing House.

The restoration of a Pleyel is not for the faint of heart, particularly when the instrument has undergone an earlier, poor quality restoration.

Unfortunately, the earlier restorer saw it fit to use a non water soluble glue to glue the remnants of the original leather plectra into the tongues.  A hole was then drilled through the plectra, and a round, Neupert style plectra subsequently inserted.  It was necessary for me to make and install approximately 75 new tongues, as several of the originals were either split, missing, or poorly drilled during the earlier "restoration."

In fact, a great deal of the work I have thus far done has been the correcting and complete undoing of some truly horrendous work, performed by a less than competent restorer.

Pictured here is the re-attachment of the treble section 16' nut, which had become unglued. Slowly but surely, the instrument is rumbling back to life.

Making the Soundboard for opus IV

Here, Amicus, my worthy apprentice, checks the glue joint between two soundboard planks.

1806 Broadwood Grand Fortepiano Restoration

At long last, my 1806 Broadwood has entered my workshop for restoration.

Making the Soundboard

Having re-sawed several 1"x4"x6' fir boards into 1/8"x4"x6' planks, I have begun the process of gluing them together to form the soundboard.  Once completed, it will be cut to fit in the case, flush with the inner rim and belly rail, and planed at various points between the 8' bridge and hitch pin rail.

Steaming the Bridge

While this method might not appear to be as refined or aesthetically pleasing as the one  we would like to imagine Taskin or Ruckers employed to steam their 8' bridges, the combination of a large steamer pot, clear plastic hose, a few clamps and a 5' length of PVC pipe, atop my kitchen gas stove, is serving the purpose quite nicely.

Broadwood Square Piano

The front view and nameboard of the 1795 Broadwood square piano, maker's number 2998, on which I performed some technical work for Glenn Giuttari's Harpsichord Clearing House, in preparation for delivery to its new owner. The instrument, save for 4 wound and 1 brass string, is entirely in its original, quite playable condition. A very small dab of Hoppe's no. 9 Premium Gun Oil on each damper lever successfully and efficiently brought them to a nearly perfect working condition, as several were quite sluggish or entirely inoperable. I cautiously set the pitch of the instrument at A392, as there is a very slight twisting of the case, a common square piano "disease." The instrument, however, is very stable, and, with luck, will continue to offer joy and solace to its listeners and players for another 209 years.

Stodart in Concert

On Saturday, September 12, and Sunday, September 13, at Sayles Memorial Congregational Church in Lincoln, RI, the Stodart made its 21st century debut, in two tremendously successful performances featuring fortepianist Sylvia Berry and myself, in programs including the music of Haydn, Schubert, Beethoven, and Clementi.
The sound and action were enthusiastically praised by all who heard and played the instrument. The success of these performances was deeply gratifying on both a personal and professional level. Up next: the completion of my Opus IV harpsichord, a 392/415/440 transposable single, FF-f''' 8'x8'x4'/buff.

My Harpsichords

Decided to post some photos of the three harpsichords I've built.
Pictured from top to bottom, my opus III, a French Single, FF-f''', 8x8/buff, double transposing, built on commission, now in Philadelphia, PA;
my Opus II, a Flemish Single, GG-d''', 8x8/buff, transposing, now in Canton, MI,
and my Opus I, a Flemish Double, GG-d''', 8x8x4/buff, non transposing, soon to be delivered to its new owner in NH.

Finishing touches

While there remains much work to do, the Stodart is now in reasonably good playing condition.

I am now in the process of eliminating buzzes, clicks, and various small, but very annoying technical problems.

Fortunately, the action has withstood the constant musical assault it has been subjected to, despite my most powerful fortissimo playing.

The next step will be to restore the damper action, which will hopefully improve the action's very poor damping capabilities, particularly in the bass.

Farewell, old friend...

Opus I has been sold, and will be living in New Hampshire, at the home of a Methodist minister.

I hate to part with it, but am happy with the knowledge that it will be going to a good home, only two hours away.

Still, it's sad to see "my baby" go.

Sigh...

Stodart/Action

After engaging in mortal combat with the newly restored action, I have won the battle, bringing the Stodart several steps closer to perfect playing condition.

The action presented a host of problems to be solved, including badly warped keys, twisted keyframe, sluggish jacks, and of course, several shanks and hammers which needed to be fabricated and replaced.

One of the most perplexing problems, however, involved the upward bowing of the rear keyframe rail.

The combination of the shift return spring's constant pressure on the keyframe and the shift pedal toggle's pulling and lifting of the keyframe resulted in the rail's developing a permanent, upward arch.

This condition required the installation of an additional "hold down" bracket, fastened to the lower rail of the damper action,  just to the left of center of the rear keyframe rail.

In an earlier post, I suggested that the missing ivories were the

least of this action's various problems.

That suggestion proved to be quite true.

Italian Virginal

Taking a break in the Stodart restoration.

Here's an Italian Virginal that I am restoring for the Harpsichord Clearing House.

The process pictured is the reattaching of the soundboard to the upper surface of an internal brace.

To paraphrase the stereotypical used car salesman, "she might not look to pretty right now, but just wait 'til I get 'er up an' running..."

Stodart/Hammers

Pictured here are the disassembled components of the hammers, shanks, butts, flange plate, and axle pin, which are in groups of 12, 13, or 14, along the hammer rail.

The first group, containing numbers 1-13, has been reassembled, with new cedar shanks installed.

The action of this this instruments bears several similarities with that of the modern piano, specifically, a butt pivoting on a center pin/axle which, in turn, is held into place on a flange via a brass flange plate.

While this design contributes greatly to the precision, stability and subsequent responsiveness of the action, the future replacement of broken hammer shanks will require the removal of the entire group of hammers, shanks, butts, etc. in which it falls.

For the modern piano technician, this could be recognized as the precursor to the brass rail flange, as found in the Sohmer vertical piano.

Stodart/Hammers

Out of 78 hammers and shanks, only 24 remain in their original state, unrepaired, re-glued, or replaced.

From this, I am to determine the original hammer line, and will now begin the process of restoring the hammers and shanks to their original, straight and correct position.

Ultimately, the tails will form a perfectly straight line, for uniform backchecking, the heads for a uniform strike point.

Stodart/Action

My last hope for finding a signature with a specific date has been lost.

The maker(s) of the keyframe, keyboard, and damper system did not see fit to follow the keyboard instrument makers tradition of affixing a signature and date to their work. 

We are left with nothing more than the maker's number, 7388, a faint signature of "H. Clark" in the keywell, and this stamped initial bearing the name "J. Young" on the treble end action bracket.

Stodart/Action

Now it's time to turn to the restoration of the action.

Unfortunately, it appears to have been "restored" once before, and poorly so.

Most of the cloth and leather has been replaced, leaving little alternative but for me to remove and replace most or all of it.

Most of the hammers have been improperly re-glued, some out of order and improperly angled, and several shanks have been replaced, curled, or are missing entirely.

The backchecks are twice as thick as necessary, resulting in the over compensation of the regulation of their angle and subsequent interference with the damper lever upstop rail.

The most common question I have been asked by others who have seen this action has been "are you going to replace the missing ivories?" to which I would reply "the missing ivories are the least of the challenges this poor, mistreated action presents."

Stodart/Pitch raising

Two bits of good news:

First, the Stodart did not explode, implode, or otherwise self-destruct after the first pitch raising.

The wrestplank insert, tubes, rails and pressure bars seem to be secure.

So far.

Second, the instrument sang for the first time tonight in many, many years.

My educated guess is that this instrument has been in a state of disrepair for at least 100 years, silent and unplayable.

There remains a great deal more work to be done, specifically, on the action and damper system, however, no words can express the degree of gratification I experienced by playing little more than a few arpeggios and chords on this fascinating piece of musical history.

Stodart/restrung

Having completed restringing and installing the compensating tubes, hitchpin rails and pressure braces, the instrument is now ready to be gradually brought up to pitch, ultimately, A430.

Thus far, the wrestplank insert is showing no signs of failure; then again, it could very well blow up in my face once the strings are fully tensioned.

Stodart/braces

The holes for the tuning pins have been drilled, and the front braces for the compensator tubes installed.

Stodart/wrestplank

To my delight (and relief), the applying of the veneer cap was successful, and is perfectly flush with the original cap.

The next steps will be to apply shellac, tinted to match the color of the original cap, mark and drill the holes for the tuning pins, and begin the long process of installing the compensator tubes, braces and brackets, hitchpin rails, and original strings.

Stodart/wrestplank

After carefully trimming a 44.5" piece of maple veneer, which will serve as the cap, to line up with the top edge of the original cap, I have glued it into place by means of a go-bar deck.

To eliminate the possibility of having the wooden pressure bar stick to the cap via squeeze through glue, the bar was first wrapped in wax freezer paper before being clamped into place.

Stodart/wrestplank

Prior to gluing on a maple veneer cap over the wrestplank insert, it was necessary for me to make the top of it's surface level to that of the original veneer capping, which was anything but flat or level.

With a few layers of veneer applied onto the insert at various points, the top edge of the new cap should line up with that of the original.

"The other side's culture!"

This picture was taken August 31, 2008, in Newark, Vermont, by the first of my followers.

"Followers."

Hmmm...

Sounds rather cultish, wouldn't you agree?

Anyway, this was the year that I made good on a repeated promise that I had made to our host, the ruddy, mustachioed gentleman standing directly behind me, to bring an instrument to a Pig Roast in The Big Woods.

I'm playing my Opus II harpsichord (now residing outside of Detroit, Michigan), for perhaps the most diverse, appreciative group of people for whom I have ever played.

White collar, blue collar, no collar.

They were all there.

Stodart Compensator Grand, no. 7388

After a bit more research, I have been able to narrow down the year that the Stodart was built to be between 1827-1828.

My apprentice.