[CAUT] Legs

[Douglas Wood]

We currently have one Steinway D with each type of caster on stage at  
Meany Hall (the large performance hall). That is, the older piano has  
a (new) set of the Darnell heavy-duty casters, and the newer piano  
has a set of Hamburg-style legs and casters purchased from Steinway  
with the instrument last summer. Interestingly, noone has, so far,  
indicated a strong preference for one over the other.

Understand that the stage has almost nothing in the way of  
discontinuity. Smooth maple, well-maintained pockets, etc. The only  
threshold is very small, metal, with beveled edge. And the pianos  
rarely go over it. Any facility with significant thresholds or  
carpets to go over would probably strongly prefer large wheels  
(Hamburg-style or truck).

The Darnell casters are actually easier for small moves, or slightly  
changing the angle or placement of the piano. The big brass casters  
roll easily enough that once moving the piano could go off the edge...

Do note that the Steinway keybed (both NY and Hamburg) is flexible  
enough that the touch and balance rail glide settings will change  
with wheel position. If you go to the large caster, the wheel center  
is far enough from the stem center to flex the keybed!! So you buy  
into ALWAYS setting the wheels directly in front or directly behind  
the legs!!!!!

It is also a good idea to have two locking casters, and use the locks  
as appropriate.

The short legs for the new piano came separate (we have both sets  
here) from the piano, and without hardware installed. It was a bit of  
sweaty work to drill for socket and locking plate screws. And one  
must fit the locking plate properly. (!!) A couple of hours, I guess,  
by the time I was all done.

All in all, a bit expensive and time-consuming. And still there is no  
agreement on preference, so I have not gone back to the original  
legs. If y'all would like, I can post to the stage hands for recent  
feedback.

The D that is in our small performance space just came off a  
Schroeder truck and back onto Darnell casters. This was mostly to  
lower the keyboard and pedals--we'd had complaints. But it turns out  
that the casters were sufficiently worn to not roll well. And it also  
seems that almost noone was paying attention to the caster locks. And  
so moving the piano with one or both on...

Do note that the Darnell casters will age, and beyond a certain age  
will be much more difficult to manage. You can replace them from  
Steinway for under $200, and from PianoTek for under $100, I believe.

But all in all they are very nice casters and they keep it all simple.

Doug Wood, RPT

University of Washington School of Music


On Apr 6, 2007, at 9:59 PM, Wolfley, Eric ((wolfleel)) wrote:

> 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.
>
> 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.
> 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”.
> 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.
> 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.
> 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.
> 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.
> 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.
> 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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