Hello! It's been a little while since I've updated you on anything, but truthfully there hasn't been much beyond a LOT of tunings. I think later this spring I should have some fun projects to share, though. For now, I thought I'd share some of the details of my workshop, as well as some of my favorite tools. If you enjoy jewelry making, woodworking, or just hobby crafts, this is for you! And if you don't do any of those, I hope you still enjoy a sneak peek into what I work with when I bring an action home.
Let's start with my workbench. It's pretty standard, though I added a few things to really use all of my available space. The back panel has a shelf with all my cleaning supplies, as well as a heavy-duty magnet bar to hold all my tools. Rather than buy two bars, I decided to drill extra blocks into the back so that I could use both sides of the magnet, which conveniently can hold every tool I use! The bottom is a storage area which contains my larger items, refills for cleaning, but directly underneath the tabletop is a sliding drawer which I primarily use for key storage (very useful since I typically need to work on both the action and keys of a piano, but I only have one workbench).
Then, I have some of my favorite tools. These screw-holding screwdrivers aren't specific to pianos, but they can help me with reinstalling hammers or wippens into the action; the screwdrivers grip the screws, which is much more reliable than a traditional grabber or magnetic tip tool. I highly recommend these to anyone who needs to work with screws in hard-to-reach places, and they're actually really cheap, albeit a little hard to find.
The Bushmaster is a spring-loaded blade which is an excellent tool for getting new felt pushed the right distance into a key and then cut. The plastic cauls I then use to softly clamp on the felt as the glue dries. I have a few standard sizes for the cauls (.125"/.137"/.146"), though there are several non-standard caul sizes that I haven't had the need to purchase yet.
When an action is too stiff due to swelling of felt or wood in the flanges, I have to replace the centerpins and ream/burnish the flange felt. This is called repinning, and I have several handy tools and supplies for this. The spring-loaded hand tool is amazing for popping the pins out on one side while pushing new ones in on the other. The thin gram gauge helps me determine the amount of friction in the flange, which leads into the reaming and burnishing set. The reamer is square-shaped and tapered, so I can insert it into an open flange up until I feel resistance, and I can then twist the needle to cut some of the material off. The burnisher lets me smooth out the hole, which I do by rapidly twisting the needle inside the flange to generate friction and heat, ironing the felt. The last tool here is for drilling out bad felt bushings to insert new ones, which thankfully doesn't happen too often. I also have several different sizes of centerpins, as well as a travel kit and a gauge chart that I wrote out. You can imagine that a precision micrometer also comes in handy for this kind of work.
I have a few miscellaneous others, both quite simple. One is this sanding block which helps with key repairs; having a block to grip rather than just a piece of paper can really help save my hands some grief! The titanium sanding paddle is great for reshaping hammers, as the grit is just right for sanding the hammers without completely ripping the felt apart. Also, this small tool has saved me a ton of time on bridle strap replacements, since it can pierce the cork and push it in without breaking it completely. The bridle tool was extremely easy to make, it's just a small wooden dowel and a clipped piano string glued into it.
Here are some other pictures of my in-progress pianos and other things I use. I know it seems random, with different parts and supplies just strewn around, but as my projects are completed, I'll be able to free up some room and get a little more organized.
Finally, I'd like to move into my two favorite tools that I don't use too often. The first is one you can see in action in my Wurlitzer blog. The piano tilter is a heavy-duty gadget designed for safely tilting upright pianos onto their backs to allow easy access to the bottom and inside for pedal or stringing work. It's an essential tool for restringing or wheel replacement jobs, and it helps immensely with other kinds of services, which you can see in that blog post above. It's surprisingly light and also foldable, which means I can easily fit it into the back of my car for special jobs.
I also have my hand-built ramp for piano moving. Now, I don't claim to be a pro piano mover, but I do know enough to get the job done with some help, and this ramp is the majority of said help. I found during my first move that the U-Haul truck ramps are 8' and also have metal ridges, meaning they have a steep incline and it's also easy to lose momentum. I designed a 9'8" ramp (so it just barely fits inside a 10' truck) to allow for a shallower incline as well as a smoother surface for rolling heavy pianos into the truck. It's served me well from little spinets to full size grands! The steel beams really support it well, with the plywood supporting the piano as well as 2-3 people and the high 2x4 sides preventing the piano from sliding off unintentionally. While I try not to use this too often (I really prefer tuning and technician work!), I do need it every now and then to bring new projects into the shop. Note: I wouldn't recommend moving a piano yourself without experience, nor would I recommend moving a piano that isn't cushioned or strapped down as I did here. It just so happened that this piano is heavy enough and that it was moving from curb to truck (which created a shallower incline), which meant it wasn't in real danger of sliding off the ramp or the dolly. Normally I do wrap and strap pianos I move! I did wrap and strap it once it was in the truck, but I was on a time crunch, so we opted to just get it inside first.
I hope you enjoyed this! This shop has developed significantly over time, with furniture moving, lights being installed, and more and more tools being acquired or made. I use it almost every day for piano projects. Now you can know where exactly I'm taking your action and keys if we ever get to schedule some work together. This is the perfect season for starting projects, so don't hesitate to call if you want to ask about what your piano may need!
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