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MMD > Archives > May 1999 > 1999.05.10 > 08Prev  Next


Farrand Player Success
By Dan Harrett

To all in the MMD that rendered advice (solicited and otherwise) to
an amateur restorer, Thank You.  The restoration of the Farrand player
I had undertaken last fall is completed.

After finishing the rebuilding and spending nearly a week tweaking the
valve adjustments while it was connected to a regulated suction source
(a small vacuum cleaner connected to a Variac), we installed the upper
action in the piano last Wednesday and _it works!_  Now I see the
satisfaction you all get from taking a tired but venerable instrument
and making it sing again.

A _little_ bit of cheating was necessary -- putting a metal elbow in
the main suction hose to keep it from kinking, for example, because the
modern equivalent from Schaff is not as rigid -- but everything else
was a faithful to the original as I could make it.  It's a magnificent
sounding instrument, and the museum director has lots of plans to
demonstrate it.

I plan to keep monitoring the discussions here, even if I don't rebuild
another piano.  (I may not be _completely_ done -- the museum also has
received a circa-1860 melodeon they'd _really_ like to have working...)

Dan Harrett


(Message sent Mon 10 May 1999, 03:00:07 GMT, from time zone GMT-0400.)

Key Words in Subject:  Farrand, Player, Success

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