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1923 Weber 9' Grand
Owner: Galion High School
Galion, OH

Restored April 2003- November 2003

This magnificent piano was donated by a wonderful piano teacher in Galion, OH in 1935. Aeolian Piano Company had contacted her and asked if she would be interested in purchasing another 9' Weber in addition to the one in her home. She took a train to New York and discussed the price with company officials. Not possessing quite enough funds for the purchase, she returned to Galion and mortgaged her home to cover the $200 shortfall needed to purchase the piano. She then donated the piano, Concert Grand Weber #78446, to Galion High School where it has been ever since. Many famous artists have performed on this piano as Galion was a common stop for many well known musicians back in the days when the railroad took regular stops in Galion. Since then, time, wear and tear have taken their toll on this beautiful instrument and it became evident that complete restoration was in order. Central Michigan Pianos was contacted early in 2003 and asked to estimate restoration costs. After the initial inspection of this piano we knew it would be a special project. Not only because of the history of the piano, but also the craftsmanship that was built into this wonderful old concert grand. We thoroughly enjoyed restoring this fine piano and it was delivered back to the high school in Galion in November 2003.

Dismantling the piano is the first step in restoring any piano. Careful cataloging of parts, making patterns of bass strings, making notes of unusual designs, etc. etc. all are critically important in performing a quality restoration.

Stripping and sanding the piano. This particular Weber 9' was a bit battle scarred and needed a fair amount of repair and sanding. It is always advisable to use the same type of wood for repairs so as to minimize shifting or shrinking of repairs during weather changes. If a piano is maple, maple is best to use for broken corners and other similar problems with the case parts.

The old sound board removed. Several splits and a general break down in quality made replacing this sound board necessary. While at times it is better to save the old sound board, it is at times more advantageous to replace it with a new fully crowned board that will sound better, last longer, and be much more esthetically pleasing to the eye.

Samuel Kapteyn making the new ribs. Quartersawn sugar pine or straight grain spruce are very good woods to use as ribs. Strong, straight grained, yet light weight enables them to hold the crown that is forced into the sound board.

Gluing the ribs onto the new sound board. The sound board is laid upside down into a reverse crown mold. When the ribs are glued onto the new board the crown is formed by the ribs. Though there are two schools of thought concerning crowning sound boards, pre crowned and forced crown, Central Michigan Pianos chooses the forced crown method as this is the method chosen by Steinway and other top manufacturers.

The new sound board and bridges ready to be glued in the piano case.

Gluing in the sound board. Bessey clamps from Germany provide excellent holding power to insure proper gluing in of the board.

New pinblock drilled out. This pinblock is what is called a step or built up pinblock. The pinblock is also called the wrest plank. It is what holds the tuning pins in place. Proper fit with the plate is all important. Delignit from Germany is an excellent choice for pinblock material as it is very impervious to humidity changes and allows the tuning pins to stay tight for a lifetime.

Setting the plate. A restorer must make sure proper down bearing is set. Down bearing is the amount of angle the strings go up and over the bridge. Too much down bearing makes for a strong initial sound but very poor sustain, while too little makes for long sustain but no power.

Sound board glued in and ready for finish.

Plate set and ready for strings.

Side view of the plate and raised lettering.

Samuel Kapteyn restringing this 9 ft. beauty.

Regulating. It can take up to a week or more to properly regulate a concert grand piano.

The new action. This action was a Langer "rocker" action which is very obsolete in it's design. We replaced the old style with the modern design. We chose Renner parts for this piano. It worked out well and the piano has a very responsive feel. The touch weight is 54 grams down weight in the low bass and works up to 49 in the high treble.

Finally completed!

One of the reasons we go through all the work of restoring classic old pianos is so we can play the piano and hear it's beautiful tones when it is completed. We are very fortunate to do what we do and enjoy it thoroughly. To take an great old piano like this 9' Weber and bring it back to life is very gratifying.