1947 Weaver spinet question

[Geoff Sykes]

Customer called me about this old piano that they recently moved into their house. Parents purchased it new so it's part of the family. All I knew going in was that it was a Weaver and a couple of the notes weren't working correctly. What I found was a beautiful Weaver spinet (drop action) from 1947.

The case is in almost perfect condition. There are a few minor cracks starting in the bass bridge. Strings look almost new. No rust anywhere. Stickers are actually cast iron rockers. Pinblock is good. It tuned right up from 447. Yes, 25¢ sharp. 

Question 1: Does anyone know more about this piano than Pierce? Is it just a really attractive PSO at this point, or is it actually worth the $$ to repair and keep?

Yes, I said repair. Unfortunately there are two sort of big problems that need fixing. Both the damper flanges and the wippen flanges were made from that weird plastic of the day that is starting to crumble. They all need replacing as cracks and breaks are causing problems. 

Question 2: Is the damper flange I see in the current Schaff catalog, (page 118, part #514J), what I need?

Question 3: Is the wippen flange I seen in the current Schaff catalog, (page 118, part #511CJ), what I need?

No specs given for either on in the catalog, but they look right. The old damper flanges measure 23mm. The old wippen flanges measure 28mm.

Thanks --

-- Geoff Sykes, RPT

(cross posted to PTG PianoTech forum)

[Geoff Sykes]

OOPS! By wippen I, of course, meant hammer butt. Sorry.

-- G

[Arthur]

Too pretty a piano to just trash. I've replaced plastic damper flanges more than a few times. Butt flanges should be easy. I see Schaff had rockers too. As long as the bass is alive and it can be tuned save it. IMO.

Arthur

Sent from my iPhone

[fredsch...@gmail.com]

That sticker design certain has its problems!  I wouldn’t expect great performance from this piano, considering that the action ratio changes as you adjust the lost motion.  And the friction at the wippen cushion must be rather high also!

 

On the other hand, being able to lift the action out to work on it is nice!

 

But for sentimental reasons the owners may want to pay the price for what will end up being a pretty big job to do well.

 

Those look like standard dimension flanges from that time – but I think you won’t know how well the new ones match until you place them side by side.

 

Don Mannino

Don Mannino
Via Windows Mail

From: Geoff Sykes
Sent: ‎Thursday‎, ‎September‎ ‎11‎, ‎2014 ‎9‎:‎22‎ ‎PM
To: pian...@googlegroups.com

Customer called me about this old piano that they recently moved into their house. Parents purchased it new so it's part of the family. All I knew going in was that it was a Weaver and a couple of the notes weren't working correctly. What I found was a beautiful Weaver spinet (drop action) from 1947. . . . .

[Terry Farrell]

> Too pretty a piano to just trash.

Yes, it is pretty - but NO, it is not too pretty to trash!

Terry Farrell

[Terry Farrell]

 Is it just a really attractive PSO at this point, or is it actually worth the $$ to repair and keep?

Always at least two ways to value a piano like this - musical value and sentimental value. Regarding musical value: NO!  Regarding sentimental value: that is entirely up to the owner. My suggestion would be to give them a cost estimate along with a description of what the piano will sound and play like after you are done - and then perhaps also some information on what the cost and musical value would be of a replacement piano. With that information, the owner can make an intelligent decision.

Regarding sizing the flange replacements: I think it is the Pianotek catalog where they show dimensionally accurate diagrams/pictures of replacement parts. I replaces some plastic flanges a while back and used their catalog pics as a guide - worked perfectly.

Terry Farrell

[Larry Fisher RPT]

Hi Geoff

 That's a pretty piano in really good shape on the outside. The action work that's need to fix it up is well beyond it's marketable value. If it were mine, I'd put effort into making it a beautiful desk.



From memory, once I replaced the rockers on one, the action still felt funny. If the family isn't all that concerned about that, by all means take their money and fix this one up to the max. Personally, I wouldn't bid the job without including the replacement of the rockers as well as all the plastic parts.

[Geoff Sykes]

I automatically reach for the Schaff catalog often forgetting that the Pianotek catalog is another resource. Thanks for the reminder.

I have already explained to them most of the pros and cons of this work. At this point it's a sentimental value job. We'll see how long that lasts once they see the estimate.

-- GS

[Geoff Sykes]

I was surprised to see the rocker arms not only in the Schaff catalog but also labeled as Weaver rocker arms. They look solid to me. Why would you replace them?

-- GS