Restoring Collard & Collard Grand

Dave Doremus algiers_piano@bellsouth.net
Thu, 3 Mar 2005 20:27:44 -0600


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A few quick thoughts, after a long day, if I goof please let me know......



On 3/3/05, Peter Joris said:
>
>
>Currently I am restoring a Collard & Collard Grand Serial: 16016 
>this should date between 1830 and 1840 I think.

Does anything about it make you think it is this early besides the 
number? Is it staight strung, no plate (gap spacers instead), 6 1/2 
8va range, square pins, etc? I'd suspect sight unseen that it is 
actually much newer, very unusual to see one that old.

>
>Im looking for information about what kind of strings to use for the 
>restinging, what felt to use for refelting the hammers etc.

If it really is that old, the hammers were probably a combination of 
felt and leather layers. Rose C wire might work. If newer consider 
puresound, I dont know of any other softer wire for victorian pianos. 
There is a co. in France that will recover old moldings, Fletcher and 
Newman used to, but I think they are out of the business.

>
>It was tuned to A440 and it holds very well.

If it really is that old 440 is probably way high.


>
>I am thinking of a rescale, so it can be tuned at A440 afterwards 
>with a lower tension, doess anybody has experience with this?


If it is a later instrument (1880s?), it was probably tuned higher 
than 440, strung fairly heavy, and actually wants a higher tension to 
sound decent. If you lower tension you will loose tone. If it is from 
the 30's you want to think about tuning at 425 or 430 at the highest.
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