"New" old uprights Costs

[Wimblees@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 5/4/00 10:30:36 AM Central Daylight Time, 
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com writes:

<< We do about 20
 complete
 > upright restorations per year at an average cost of 7k to 8k and the
 volume
 > goes up each year.  I am always sure to tell the customer that this is not
 an
 > investement and that it is likely that they will never break even.  Though
 > there is a piano dealer located about 100 miles from here who specializes
 in
 > restored old uprights.  He has a waiting list of customers for his pianos
 at
 > $7500.00 apiece.
 > David Koelzer >>


There is another angle at which to look at this in regard to the price of 
rebuilding uprights. 

For me to do the following will cost $6993. 
New hammers, shanks, butts and flanges, new wippens, new damper felts, new 
keytops, and new ebonies, bush front and balance, complete action regulation, 
cleaning in the insides, new strings and pins, new finish, replate hardware, 
new decal, rubber buttons, etc. 

This does NOT include repairs to the pin block or the soundboard, it doesn't 
replace the under key felts, it doesn't replace the stickers, or repair them 
or replace the little felts at the bottom of the stickers. It also doesn't 
repair any case damage, or to pay the finisher extra for fancy legs etc. And 
This is for a piano I don't even own. 

In other words, if someone wants to sell an upright that has been completely 
rebuilt, for $7500, he is either not doing everything necessary, or he is 
cheating himself. 

Willem