I received an email from Jonah, the president of our chapter of the PTG, with information from Garrett Stowe regarding a rebuilding project. Garrett detailed the history of the project: a 1930s George Steck baby grand that he had spent a lot of time and money on to get started but didn't have the time to finish it. He said he would need the storage space for other projects, and so wanted to sell the Steck to a young technician with drive who would finish rebuilding it. This felt like a major opportunity that I couldn't ignore, so I set out to make space in my workshop for a grand.
The workshop used to be a basement lounge that no one ever used, so after getting rid of the sofa that used to take up the floor space, we had much more room to store and work on pianos. There are three uprights along the wall (the Mason and Hamlin is visible in the left picture, but the antique Vose and Sons and the Wurlitzer spinet are out of frame) as well as plenty of new room for a grand.
You may be wondering why there's so much in that picture if the e-mail was originally for one grand; that's where the story gets even more exciting! After responding to Garrett and explaining my background and my passion for pianos, he followed up to let me know he also had a lot of tools, supplies, and even another grand that he'd like to sell me if I was willing. The supplies and tools were spares that he wasn't going to be using anytime soon, and the grand was yet another project he just didn't have the time for. I eagerly agreed and made plans to drive down to Pulaski, TN where he lived to pick everything up. On Tuesday, August 1st, I got in the truck with my brother, Kyle, and we set off.
We arrived a little after 2 PM, and Garrett showed Kyle and I everything that was about to come home with us. Then the three of us started loading everything into the truck, using our purpose-built ramp and lots of straps. The Knabe had to go in first, being the heaviest, while the Steck could be loosely strapped in, since all of its parts were taken out. The boxes with supplies and tools were wedged in between the two pianos and the shop crane, while the Steck action and other boxes were up on the shelf behind the Knabe. After nearly two hours of loading, with everything packed in nicely, we were ready to make the two-hour drive back to Old Hickory.
Upon arriving (with nothing having shifted, thankfully) my family helped me unload and get everything inside before dark. Then we organized boxes, put my moving equipment away, and put the Knabe together. It has a gorgeous sound, even being so out of tune from being packed up for over two years. It will definitely need some work, but nothing out of the ordinary for an older grand piano. There will be a post detailing the work on it down the line, because it really is neat to see the differences between working on a grand versus an upright. The tough part is going to be finishing the Steck rebuild, as a lot of that will be a learning experience as I go, and I'll definitely need help from my fellow technicians. Fortunately, a lot of the expense has already been taken care of; Garrett had the action fitted with all new Wessell, Nickel, and Gross parts, which are carbon fiber and perfectly uniform. He also did a lot of the sanding on the Steck so the parts can be refinished in any color I choose.
The bottom right picture shows the sanded plate of the Steck with the original and new pin blocks resting on top. You can also see in the bottom middle picture the sanded down and empty Steck, which I think is just beautiful to look at. Garrett told me the wood of the Steck is an extinct mahogany; the trees themselves haven't all died out, but the wood is no longer available on the market, so that's just one more special thing about this piano. The top three pictures show the beautiful, refurbished action.
This may look like a mess of parts, so let me explain. The top left picture shows a tool case with tools that Garrett no longer needs which he very kindly gave to me for no charge. The top right picture has a box with pneumatic hoses for antique pump-style player pianos, as I mentioned earlier, and a book on how player pianos function and how to repair them. The bottom left box contains reels of piano wire, used to install new strings inside pianos. This will definitely be useful when I begin stringing the Vose and Sons and the George Steck. The middle boxes contain a ton of action parts and felts, some being from the old Steck action and some being new replacement parts. Finally, the bottom right picture is just to show all that I ended up getting from Garrett; they'll find a more permanent home soon.
I hope you're as excited as I am to see these pianos come to play at a professional level. There is a lot of work to be done on them and a lot to learn about rebuilding, but I feel up to the challenge! The Knabe I hope to have done sooner, while the George Steck I suspect will take me a long time to get completely back together and ready for sale. And don't worry, I haven't forgot about the uprights either! I'll be rotating my work between these five pianos, tunings, and the actions that I service for my clients. Stay tuned for more about these five pianos! Please contact us if you are interested in more information about any of these pianos or if you would like to purchase one when they are completed.
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