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.

Stodart/Lid lock

One of the Stodart lid locks.

I challenge anyone to find an example of this kind of attention to detail, craftsmanship, and sheer beauty on any modern piano.

Even a Steinway, my modern piano of choice, is, by comparison, rather bland in it's appearance.

Stodart

Here's a view of the Stodart with the compensator tubes and braces removed.

The string tension has been completely eased, allowing for the removal of the strings.

Each string will be removed, measured and labeled, and ultimately reinstalled in the instrument.

There are a total of 231 strings.

Wrestplank restoration

Here is the "new" section of the wrestlpank.

I used System Three epoxy, no. 2 hardener, to install the wrestplank insert.

May it hold! 

Stodart/wrestplank

The repair of the wrestplank in the Stodart presented several challenges, as it is mitered into the case on three sides.

Removing and replacing it would have required, at the least, the removal of the right cheek, an endeavor I was not willing to undertake.

Faced with this dilemma, I came up with a solution which will, hopefully, withstand the enormous amount of tension of the instrument's 231 strings.

Pictured are the top of the wrestplank, where the splits along the rows of tuning pins are visible, and a 2"x 7/8" x 44.5" channel cut into the wrestplank, where a section of Delignet pinblock material will be inserted.

Here, the splits along the rows of tuning pin holes are more pronounced.

Broadwood nameboard

1806

John Broadwood and Son

Makers to His Majesty

and the Princesses

Great Pulteney Street Golden Square

London

Stodart & Broadwood fortepianos

Pictured on the right is a Broadwood Grand Fortepiano, makers number 3448, built in 1806.

At the present time, it is not in playing condition.

It will enter my workshop upon the completion of the restoration of yet another fortepiano, a Stodart Compensator Grand, makers number 7388, circa 1825-1830, pictured to the left of the Broadwood.

Simultaneously, I will continue with the building of my fourth harpsichord, a double transposing single, FF-f''', 8x8x4/buff.