1865 Boardman & Gray Square grand piano

[Vanderhoofven]

Dear Friends,

I recently inspected a 1865 Boardman & Gray Square Grand Piano Serial
Number 8350.  It is smaller than all the other square grand pianos I have
seen.  The rosewood case is in good shape.  It has 77 notes, the lowest 15
single wound strings are wrapped, the rest of the strings are plain steel
bichords, all strings are intact.  The plate is full perimeter, probably
cast iron.  In addition to the plate, there is a metal rim running all the
way around the top of the wooden rim of the case.  The tuning sounded very
wild, and it is unknown when the piano was last tuned.  Tuning pins are
quite a bit loose.  The pinblock is completely hidden under the plate and
at the back of the action cavity, so inspection was not possible, but I
suspect either a crack or that the pinblock has deteriorated.  

The white keytops are ivory, with the edge sticking out rounded like a half
circle.  Where you would usually find key fronts, there is just the wood of
the key.  The action is a very simple type, with no repetition lever or
repetition spring.  The hammers are pretty worn, and the top octave or so
has been previously covered with leather, but now the leather is worn
through.  The action is not playing very well, and some notes are not
working.  I believe that a few hours of lubricating parts and regulation
will make the piano playable, which is the goal in mind for the owners.
Restoration is not out of the question if necessary, but is not the primary
intention here.  However, the tuning will most likely not hold as the
tuning pins are loose, so that problems needs solved also.

Now some questions:

1.  Where is the closest technician to Joplin, Missouri, who does skilled
accurate restorations of pianos of this vintage?  I am not afraid to tackle
this job, but I really would prefer to refer to a qualified person with
verifiable references.  I don't know anyone within a hundred miles who does
this kind of work any better than I would, and I am certainly no expert.

2.  Is this piano anything to get excited about?  Is it a museum piece, or
is it particularly valuable?  Or are there a bunch of these pianos out there?

3.  Would anyone care to write about the procedure for handling a
historically accurate restoration like this?  I am thinking that it would
be good to take a lot of photographs, and measurements, and possibly to
even make drawings of the design.  Then to save anything I remove from the
piano.  What else would be different from a normal rebuilding?

4.  Where would I find a company that will be able to put new felt on the
existing hammer shanks?  The shanks are all in good shape, but the felt is
worn away.

5.  Without disassembling the piano I can't tell what condition the
pinblock is in, but I think it is shot.  The budget here is medium sized,
but probably wouldn't cover a new pinblock.  Would it be okay to do a
repair of the pinblock by filling up the pinblock with EpoTek Epoxy,
redrilling the holes and reinstalling the original tuning pins?  Would CA
treatment of the pinblock be valid in this situation or something to avoid?

6.  I have heard that older pianos used low tension wire with a different
carbon content. It is possible that these are the original wires.  If so,
where would I find low tension wire suitable for restringing?

Thank you!

David Vanderhoofven