Varnished soundboard…
Underside of the Style-X soundboard has been varnished – next job is to glue the board into the case. The wooden buttons in the picture …
General
Busy workshop…
Soundboard shaped to fit the case, and bridges positioned, and rough bearing set. Just about to glue the bridges on, then start varnishing the underside …
“X” soundboard…
The new soundboard (also known as the “belly”) for the Style-X Blüthner. Seen here in the process of being fitted to the case – it …
Soundboard day…
The new soundboard arrives at 12 noon! The case is all prepared – the bracings have been cleaned and lacquered, the slips (the area that …
New bass bridge…
New maple bass bridge blank completed, seen here next to the old bridge on the bandsaw. Notice the new bridge is a few millimetres taller …
Bass bridge…
Rough cut Maple to build a new bass bridge for the Blüthner Style-X. Seen here just before the top piece was thicknessed to produce a …
Tuning…
With the piano fully strung, it now needs to be brought up up pitch. Quite a gradual process on this piano, as various parts of …
Stringing tools…
I needed rather more stringing tools than usual for this piano! I usually use just one pair of pliers for a start… The piano is …
First bass strings…
For me, always a bit of a landmark during a rebuild – fitting the bass strings. Seen here, the first two strings in position. Also …
Brinsmead – new tuning screw…
The first of the new bass strings is being fitted to the Brinsmead, and also this beautifully crafted new tuning screw. I’m very thankful to …
Brinsmead stringing…
Whilst the Brinsmead stringing system is very stable, it is a LOT more fiddly to work with than the design used on most pianos… (I …
Stringing the Brinsmead….
A fine game played slowly….! The screw thread tuning system (known on upright pianos as a “top tuner” – because the threads point straight up) …
John Brinsmead No.31406…
The name and number of my current piano (Circa. 1880), stamped into the area where a wrest plank would normally live. This piano hasn’t got …
Brinsmead No.31406
Life became very busy recently! Piano work has continued, but it’s been far too long since I updated my website… My current piano is an …
Style-X…
After far too long in storage, my 1909 Blüthner Style-X ( 7’6″/228cm) was put back on its feet! I played it for about 10 minutes before …
Blüthner fall…
Polishing work on Blüthner No.83988. Seen here, the lettering on the fall, with the reflection of the piano in the background.
Regulating…
Mid way through the initial regulation of Blüthner No.83988. Here I’m doing a rough adjustment of the “setoff”, on the work bench.
Assembling the action…
Re-fitting the keys to the keyframe. It’s very important to make sure the keys move properly, so each bushing will be eased or tightened to …