The first step in a piano rebuild: moving the beast. Our 1939 Seattle home has a skinny, steep concrete stairwell to the basement where the piano lives. We removed the bannister and door so the piano could fit. The movers tell me that bringing the piano back downstairs will be much easier.

Thus begins my 1949 Steinway console piano rebuild.

The Move

My first visit to Robert Samuelson's workshop to check on the progress of the piano rebuild. Today he tips the piano on its back and shows me all the parts that will be rebuilt or replaced. New hammers from Steinway have been shipped to a Connecticut shop that specializes in reboring hammers to accommodate the slightly larger pins of this model. For the soundtrack I improvised on a MIDI piano as I watched the video at home.

Taking It Apart

Stringing The Piano

My second visit to Robert Samuelson's workshop. Today he strings the piano. The new treble string wire is from Tennessee — the bass string wire is on order from Ontario, Canada. My brother, Greg, joins me on this visit. For the soundtrack I improvised on a MIDI piano as I watched the video at home.

My third visit to Robert's shop. Today he tunes the new strings and prepares to voice the new hammers. Voicing is the process of identifying which hammers are too hard and therefore harsh sounding — and then poking the hammer with pins to loosen the felt and soften the sound of the hammer striking the string. Robert has also replaced all the felt bushings to tighten the key action. Another improvised tune on a MIDI piano at home.

Tuning & Voicing

Final Feedback

My fourth and final visit to Robert Samuelson's shop. Today I took the piano for a quick spin and gave feedback on the action. The action is noticeably balanced. Robert will add weights to a few of the keys before the piano movers pick it up on Tuesday to deliver back to my home. Another vid, another improv soundtrack while watching the video at home.

Five months later and the piano returns home with new strings, hammers, felts. Robert’s piano shop is cold and the piano was in a delivery truck all day. I plugged in the piano dehumidifier (essentially a heated bar inside the piano that keeps things dry). The basement is a consistent 70F and I have a room dehumidifier that keeps the moisture out of our Seattle basement. Overnight the piano has heated up and is immediately out of tune. It will require frequent tunings over the next year as the strings settle in, but I’m thrilled to have it back. A final homecoming soundtrack for the newly delivered piano.

Homecoming