1867 steinway concert grand with crow's feet

[Mark Schecter]

Hi, Daniel.

I have an 1873 which has the rocker capstans. I discovered to my 
considerable relief that you can adjust those capstans with a long thin 
screwdriver inserted between the whippens, though I can't remember 
exactly how. It might have been something like this: lift the shank one 
key above the key whose capstan you're adjusting, pass the screwdriver 
just above the rep lever you've just exposed, and insert the screwdriver 
into the capstan screw, or some such cockamamey maneuver.  They might 
even have been phillips-head screws. You definitely don't need the 
right-angle screwdriver. Remember to loosen one screw before you tighten 
the other, and be gentle on that old brittle wood.

-Mark

daniel carlton wrote:
> i have a customer with an 1867 steinway concert grand with a crow's feet 
> action. i saw the piano for the first time a couple of weeks ago after 
> she called me to have it tuned. it's not 100% tunable in it's present 
> condition. most of the notes play well enough (i don't see any evidence 
> of verdigris) but there are three or four disfunctional kids.
> two of the whippens have been upgraded to modern and seem to work as 
> they should. the action brackets are made of wood.
> i guess my question is whether or not this piano should be or could be 
> rebuilt. everything is in farily decent shape considering the age of the 
> thing. i realize it's hard to tell without seeing it, so I WILL TAKE 
> SOME PICS TOMORROW TO POST.
> any thoughts until then?
> 
> thanks
> 
> daniel carlton
> 
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