[CAUT] Legs

[Wolfley, Eric (wolfleel)]

Thanks, Ken.  This is most helpful and definitely seems the correct way
to go.

 

Eric Wolfley, RPT

Supervising Piano Technician

College-Conservatory of Music

University of Cincinnati

 

________________________________

From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of
Ken Zahringer
Sent: Friday, April 06, 2007 3:43 PM
To: College and University Technicians
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Legs

 

Hey, Eric,

DON'T CUT THE SPADE OFF!!!

OK, now that I have your attention, I just did this a few weeks ago.  I
had David Hughes talk me through it before I did it, and it came out OK.
I installed the BIG casters from Pianoforte Supply.

1.	The bottom of my legs were really chewed up from being on a
truck, and being moved (coming off and going back on the truck) a lot.
I cut 3/4" of the bottom of each spade.  This actually turned out to be
good, as it somewhat preserved the proportion of the spade to the
shorter leg. 
2.	The leg comes in two parts: the shaft and the capital.  David
had another term for the top part, but I can't remember what it was.
I'll say capital.  The joint is a 3" long, 2" diameter blind wedged
mortise and tenon.  You want to separate the two parts and cut down the
top of the shaft.  The total leg length, including caster, must remain
24", so you'll be taking off something like 2". 
3.	Remove the leg plate.  Drill a hole through the center point of
the capital, which may not be the center of the plate recess, to gain
access to the blind mortise.  You'll be cutting off the end of the tenon
as well, so you can just keep drilling to take out the tenon wedge.
This hole is for access for a ram, so make it big.  I used a 1 3/8"
spade bit.  1 1/2"  wouldn't be too much. 
4.	Put some padding, like 3-4 thicknesses of furniture pad, on
sawhorses or whatever you have available that's sturdy.  Brace the
capital, letting the shaft hang free.  Using a ram and a mallet, through
the hole you drilled, drive the shaft out of the capital.  I used a
length of 3/4" black iron pipe with an end cap and a 20 oz hammer.  A 3
lb mallet would have been better. 
5.	On a band saw, cut the necessary amount off the top of the
shaft, leaving the tenon intact.  You'll need to make a jig to hold the
end of the tapered leg square to the blade.  If you have an older D with
the recessed panel legs, cut an extra 1/2" off the shaft, then make a
1/2" thick plate that will slide down over the tenon and replace the top
border of the panel.  Cut the end of the tenon off so it is again
3"overall. 
6.	Now you have a leg the right length and a tenon that is part
round and part square.  Use a good sharp chisel to round off the bottom
new part of the tenon, and extend the slot to the bottom on the band
saw. 
7.	Reassemble the leg.  I used epoxy, since that old hide glue came
apart way too easily.  Insert a new wedge through the hole you drilled,
and glue a plug in the hole.  Drilling the hole probably damaged at
least one of the plate screw holes, so you'll have to deal with that.
Drill whatever hole you need in the bottom of the leg for the caster,
install the caster, and reinstall the plate. 
8.	Touch up the finish at the top of the leg and you're done.


I think that's everything.  It's really not too bad; I did all three
legs in a day.  After most of a day of planning, that is.  The
alternative, of course, is to spend $800 or so on a new set of legs from
Steinway.  At my pay, I could have spent a week on the project and still
come out a little cheaper.

If you have any questions, call David.  He's Da Man.

Hope this helps,
Ken Z.


On 4/6/07 10:18 AM, "Wolfley, Eric (wolfleel)" <WOLFLEEL at ucmail.uc.edu>
wrote:

I'm interested in hearing from anybody who has cut down legs to install
some large brass casters on a S&S D. We have a couple of instruments
that could really use this treatment here. I've looked at some really
nice casters that Piano Forte Supply is selling...
 
I don't have a Hamburg D to look at here so I'm wondering how the
"spade" part of the spade leg looks on those instruments. Does it just
look like a NY leg that has been cut down or have they changed the
proportions somehow. I'm concerned that the legs might not look right
after we've spent all that money on them...
 
Thanks,
Eric


-- 
Ken Zahringer, RPT
University of Missouri
School of Music

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