LisaKinVA Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Freecycle is my friend...after trying unsuccessfully several times, I *finally* landed an old piano via Freecycle (we're picking it up tomorrow). It's a 1910 Mahogany Whitney (less expensie Kimball) Upright Grand Piano. It plays (middle pedal doesn't work), but it needs restoration. And...I'm looking for advice, because I want to do it right (we'll do the cabinet work, but we'll hire the internal workings, if necessary). So, anyone here have any ideas of where to go look for information? Obviously, I'm searching on the internet...taking awhile. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I'll be honest with you. I've never heard of anyone doing this themselves. Ever. Pianos like this generally go to the dump for a reason. I was told once by more than one piano technician (There aren't many of them by the way. I've met two in my lifetime.) that this typically costs around $3,000. I have a perfectly good working condition upright about the same age that will likely go to the dump simply because moving it will cost more than it's worth. They are really a dime a dozen. I've been trying to give it away since July. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I'll be honest with you. I've never heard of anyone doing this themselves. Ever. Pianos like this generally go to the dump for a reason. I was told once by more than one piano technician (There aren't many of them by the way. I've met two in my lifetime.) that this typically costs around $3,000. I have a perfectly good working condition upright about the same age that will likely go to the dump simply because moving it will cost more than it's worth. They are really a dime a dozen. I've been trying to give it away since July.0 :iagree: Don't be surprised if it costs as much to restore as it is to buy a new ok quality student piano. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted November 21, 2012 Author Share Posted November 21, 2012 Bluebook on this piano restored is between $8-$10k, and it plays (except the middle foot), so it's mainly just needing exterior finish work. Hardly dump material....it's not a studio or small upright, it's got the inner workings of a Grand Piano...and when tuned, a very nice tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 before investing lots of time and money restoring the piano, have the sound board professionally checked out. somethings can't be fixed. just because it's plays, doesn't mean it's in tune or even tuneable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 We have a beautiful upright, within the same time frame as yours, that someone unfortunately painted green before we picked it up for $50 bucks. Fortunately, it's not a horrible green. Our piano tuner insists I can strip and restore the wood myself, by simply taking it apart and numbering it. I'm not brave enough :D . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 before investing lots of time and money restoring the piano, have the sound board professionally checked out. somethings can't be fixed. just because it's plays, doesn't mean it's in tune or even tuneable. This is the reason I have been advised to not get things on Craigs list, but... my mother did re-finish her piano when she was pregnant with me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted November 21, 2012 Author Share Posted November 21, 2012 We have a beautiful upright, within the same time frame as yours, that someone unfortunately painted green before we picked it up for $50 bucks. Fortunately, it's not a horrible green. Our piano tuner insists I can strip and restore the wood myself, by simply taking it apart and numbering it. I'm not brave enough :D . Actually, you don't have to take the cabinet apart...you need to use a stripping agent it's about like Elmer's glue...you paint it on, and it does most of the work. If it's not veneer, you can sand it. If it's veneer, you don't want to sand it, because you'll go right through it. I found a website that caters (even will walk you through things step-by-step). Google is my friend. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live2Ride Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 before investing lots of time and money restoring the piano, have the sound board professionally checked out. somethings can't be fixed. just because it's plays, doesn't mean it's in tune or even tuneable. I agree. If there are any cracks to the soundboard, then you have some great firewood...Having that replaced, you may as well buy a new piano. If the pins are loose or the wood around them degraded, then they won't hold a tune. I wish you luck! It sounds like it would be a lovely instrument to have restored! I love pianos and we were fortunate to find the perfect one for us. It's a spinet hybrid. Shorter than a standard spinet, but a full set of keys. DD loves it and it has a nice sound. We got a great deal on it and the tuner said it was worth every penny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 before investing lots of time and money restoring the piano, have the sound board professionally checked out. somethings can't be fixed. just because it's plays, doesn't mean it's in tune or even tuneable. :iagree: You may have better luck if it's been restored multiple times over the year. I actually have a vintage piano (1908) that's been restored internally several times that still plays great and our tuner is impressed with. It's a family heirloom and we've only done minor work on it. I'd get a couple quotes. It may be worth 8-10K restored, but it maybe start adding up to be that much to get there. And if what you really want is a playable piano, it may be just easier to go buy a basic model starter piano or a guarenteed used model. If the inside and sound board looks good, and it's tunable, it may be reasonable and you may have hit the jackpot. If you do put money into it, make sure it's because you love it and not because you are hoping to get the money back when you try to sell it. I recommend to everyone to not bring home a used piano without having a professional check out the inside. It can be really hard to get rid of a piano that doesn't end up working out. Anyway, I hope the inside looks ok and it works out for you without being cost prohibitive. Here's an interesting link I had book marked about piano restoration. http://www.grandamer...o.com/faqs.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 This is the reason I have been advised to not get things on Craigs list, but... my mother did re-finish her piano when she was pregnant with me... It's pretty unlikely that a 102 year old piano just needs a little wood refinishing. A typical lifespan for an acoustic is 50-60 years with perfect care and humidity it's whole life. It's not a piece of furniture. They DO have a lifespan. Even a 102 year old Steinway would not be something I would touch. And I know two local piano techs I'd love to support (and could if I really wanted to). I love diy projects by the way. Needing specialty tools? Bring it on! But something like this would have to be a seriously valuable family heirloom for me to even think about it. You kow, like if my great grandma carried out of her burning house or something. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 We stopped traffic when we threw my DH's grandmother's baby grand out the window. It was a beautiful piano, I cannot remember the specifics but it wasn't worth fixing, something had cracked. I do have her 106 year old upright that needs attention to the wood and keys but it has been kept up over the years and holds a tune very well, it was used in the church. Even then the wood is getting very brittle and it probably won't be in my living room for much longer. I would have it checked before bringing it home no matter what the blue book is, if the internals haven't been replaced it might not be worth anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 We stopped traffic when we threw my DH's grandmother's baby grand out the window. It was a beautiful piano, I cannot remember the specifics but it wasn't worth fixing, something had cracked. I do have her 106 year old upright that needs attention to the wood and keys but it has been kept up over the years and holds a tune very well, it was used in the church. Even then the wood is getting very brittle and it probably won't be in my living room for much longer. I would have it checked before bringing it home no matter what the blue book is, if the internals haven't been replaced it might not be worth anything. People toss them all the time. If they can't get someone to haul it away: http://www.nytimes.c...?pagewanted=all I love projects. I've rebuilt a car engine when I was younger and it was fun (And no, that car wasn't worth it! lol!)! Every day I think of something I want to build, redo etc. Love projects. If I wanted a piano though, not a project, I just would not go there. Learning to do this and then getting it done could take quite a long time. In the meantime, if you have a student who needs a piano, they'll be waiting. Also, it is actually a highly skilled job. I've seen pianos torn apart. It requires a bit of space too and specialty tools--not any typical stuff you can pick up at the hardware. There's a lot of fussy machinery packed in there. That said, learning how to do this might be fun if you go into it with eyes wide open, and have a knowledgeable person to go to with any questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnificent_baby Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Both my husband and my sister have painted old pianos in the past. That may be something worth considering and could be easier than refinishing. They both used black. They turned out beautiful and fairly inexpensive. I just painted a dresser, and there are SO many tutorials and blogs out there that you should't have any trouble learning how to DIY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I have friends who picked up a grand piano at an estate sale that was painted antique green. Before shelling out even what was a low cost to buy and move it, they did have a technician look at it to be sure it was worth the time and money. They got lucky as it was only one key that needed work and the rest was cosmetic. The technician did tell them to expect to spend significant dollars every X number of years on repair/maintenance if they wanted to keep it in good working condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 For those of you who are looking, the NY Times article linked to a piano adoption site: http://www.pianoadoption.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I just have to send you a big smile. :) We are fairly close to you geographically, and I saw that same posting on freecycle! It made me smile at the time, and I even read it aloud to DH. It made him smile, too. Hoping that it is an easy fixer upper for you, and that it brings you many years of enjoyment. (And, after getting it home, if restoring it looks near-impossible, you can always pass it along via freecycle to someone who may want to invest the energy, time and funds.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 This is the reason I have been advised to not get things on Craigs list, but... my mother did re-finish her piano when she was pregnant with me... I love craigslist, but somethings are more likely to be good than others. even then, an older used piano can be useful. I got a piano off it, and the older upright had a much better sound board (but an average condition case that isn't worth doing anything(so much cheaper.) to) than a more contemporary console with a good condition case. the irony is they were the same price. I'm to the point of wanting to replace it with a good quality digital with a full-size keyboard and weighted keys. (and pedals.) of course even then, some digitals sound much better than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted November 21, 2012 Author Share Posted November 21, 2012 We picked it up...it is actually in pretty good condition for a 1910 piano. The previous owner actually restores pianos, he's restored 3, and had four, and just doesn't have time to do this one. He opened it up for us, the soundboard and pinboard are in excellent condition (for their age). It's dusty, but hasn't lived with smokers (the inside would be blackened by tar...whereas it's just dusty). There is some wood that needs to be fixed, but all of the hand-turned and hand-carved pieces are still perfect. We'll need to strip the old varnish off, but because it's solid mahogany (no veneer at. all.), we won't be painting...the wood is just beautiful. We'll probably just coat it with Tung Oil. Someone attempted to "fix" it up a little, because they replaced the original ivories with PLASTIC (yuck), but that will be the last thing we fix...The solid ebony sharps are all gorgeous...just need to be cleaned and polished. Here's a link to the exact same piano, except in a Golden Oak. We'll probably spend about $3,000 to restore it, but what a grand piece it will be. It's something that is worth having, and worth the effort to fix up. My husband is really good with wood work, and his father restores Chris Craft Mahagony Boats, so we have a bit of experience to draw upon to fix it up right (the cabinetry). http://www.antiquepianoshop.com/images/products/main/-tmp-jpgtjqzgs.jpg 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Wow, looks just like the piano I had growing up!! ----- the one mother refinished when she was pregnant with me! Good luck and have fun with it! Lara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Skivywavr Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Lisa K, I acquired a 1910 Kimball upright as a gift. I knew nothing about pianos, nor how to restore one. However, like you, I was curious and bold. I researched, and learned all about my piano. I decided to restore it as best I could. I had it appraised in it's "before" condition. A past owner had painted the piano and was valued at around $3000. I hired a piano technician http://kevinbussepianoservice.com/ and he replaced the missing pedal, three broken hammers and "registered" the action and tuned it. It sounded great. Then I went to work - dismantled the fallboard, top cover, upper & lower front covers and took them to the garage, where I stripped the paint off using "Kleen Strip" stripper and after wash. http://www.kleanstrip.com/ It took several applications, but finally I was able to get it all off, revealing the beautiful quarter sawn oak wood underneath, which retained it's original dark finish! Then I went inside where I had to strip the rest of the piano (in place) in my living room. I threw down tarps all around, and took a "heat gun" and removed a majority of the paint with that. Some residual parts had to be completed with the chemical strip. After that, I rubbed the whole thing down with steel wool. That removed all of the tiny specs left behind. Wanting to preserve the original finish & restore the 100 year old dry oak wood, I applied "Watco" rejuvenating oil for a hand-rubbed finish that looks great! http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/watco/rejuvenating-oil Now I have a beautiful antique piano that sounds great and cost me under $500 to restore! Lisa, if I did it... You can do it too! I would upload pics, but this forum doesn't seem to allow it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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