Lyon and Healy Player Piano
By Brian Thornton
Hey I got the same inquiry:
> It is a Lyon and Healy, Washburn full upright serial #6311. It has
> a cherry finish and is probably pre W.W.II. I was told by an elderly
> piano technician, 20 years ago, that the player mechanism was unusual
> in that it contains large banks of copper tubing,
Here's my response:
This is more likely Lead tubing with a copper finish or just orange shellac. Solid copper was too expensive even back in those days. Several manufacturers used lead/alloy tubing. A couple of the early Washburns I've rebuilt had double valve Standard type actions,(which has the lead tubing). Later ones have H. C. Bay & Simplex, (which also has lead tubing).
Lyon & Healy, as did many piano manufacturers, purchased player mechanisms on a bid basis -- whoever gave the best price got the contract for that year. Sometimes it's hard to tell what kind of action can be in a piano just by the name. Knowing the type of action in a piano is important, because the ease of rebuilding varies greatly from make to make. A Standard or Simplex is much easier to rebuild than the H. C. Bay, which has to be sawn apart to get at the pouches.
Washburn is a very "middle of the road" piano in terms of tone quality and construction. Its unrestored value, based on condition and make of player mechanism, ranges from $200.00 to $500.00 Hope this is some help
Brian Thornton, Short Mtn. Music Works
109 N. Cannon St., Woodbury TN 37190
615-563-5814 http://www.mindspring.com/~goatboy/smmw.htm |
(Message sent Sat 29 Mar 1997, 17:53:27 GMT, from time zone GMT-0600.) |
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