Hi Jon, I modernized a Brown action in a 9' Chickering here on the Vineyard. I would have restored it if I had a full set of parts in good condition. The ones that were there were pretty bad. I was torn about conservation vs making a serviceable instrument and decided to make a serviceable instrument. This meant soaking off the original key buttons to reuse then moving the balance rail about 1.5" back. Once a modern key ratio was established then the modern parts worked fine. However this was a Chickering with shanks and wips angled to the rails so I made an angle cut on the inside surface of the wippen flanges to accommodate the angle. The piano plays beautifully. I also kept the original wood brackets which were in good shape. David Stanwood >Has anyone tried to modernize one of these? jpg attached > >What are the salvaged parts availability for reconditioning this? >-- > >Regards, > >Jon Page
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