RESTORATION OF A CUSTOMER'S 1860 G. MILLER SQUARE PIANO 

Lovely Rosewood Case and Ivory keytops

 

  mp3 sound file of this piano

Back to Shafferpianos.com

                    This piano came into our shop for a restoration earlier this year.  Over the years, various types of patchwork had been done to it, but it never received a proper restoration.  

 

Plate and strings before

Rusty strings and a badly stained soundboard

Plate and new strings after

We retained the original artwork. Note the refinished soundboard under the plate

The Piano arrived at our shop with a crack in the cast iron plate

Many piano rebuilders today still think that such cracks cannot be repaired and thus the piano is worthless.  Technology has changed with regard to such repairs and fine pianos with cracked plates can often be repaired.

The Repaired plate ready for painting

The plate was properly repaired by use of steel locks installed across the crack. This repair is more reliable than welding cast iron.

 

A significant amount of case damage existed, calling for veneer work, especially on portions of the lid.

In the end, the lid turned out very nicely

Someone had installed a new aftermarket pedal lyre on the piano that did not fit well and looked awkward on this vintage piano.

We located an original 1860s pedal lyre and fitted it to the piano for an original look.

The Completed Piano