At the suggestion of a friend I looked at an interesting video last night:
“Not by Note – The construction of a Steinway grand piano”
I was amazed at the amount of traditional woodworking skills that were employed. Particularly impressive is the fact the the entire exterior shape of the piano is bent from one piece of wood. It does not appear that it was laminated but it may have been. It took about 6 -8 men to carry this very long, single piece of wood to the bending form. Yes – there were plenty of clamps.
I got our video through Netflix.
Frosty
“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert,
in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.”
Milton Friedman
Replies
Hi Frosty... If you think Note by Note looks good on your 'small screen', you have to see it in a theater. In LARGE format, you feel like you're in the factory with the workers. My wife and I saw it shortly after it came out. WOW!! Yes, hand woodworking is not dead. Now I've got to get over to Steinway and take one of their factory tours.
SawdustSteve Long Island, NY (E of NYC)
It went so fast at the beginning that I couldn't be sure is that huge piece of timber was laminated. (It must have been but I'm not sure.) Were you able to sort that out on the big screen?Frosty“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert,
in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.” Milton Friedman
I saw that one and another one on the Discovery or Learning channel. The must laminate that huge piece that gets bent! Anybody know for sure???
Yes, the curved 'shell' is laminated. When I do my next laminated piece, I'm going to use threaded rod, washers and nuts with cross-pieces instead of clamps. It has to be easier and LIGHTER than that pile of c-clkamps Jorgensens and bar clamps that I now use.
SawdustSteve
Edited 12/4/2009 6:08 pm ET by SawdustSteve
Steve, I made 3' cauls and drilled bolt holes every 4" for the 1/2" threaded rods. This permits a great deal of versatility for clamping up laminations of varying widths.
If you do a fair number of laminations you might consider one of these.http://www.slacktool.com/index.phphttp://rrclamp.com/index.php
Wow! That looks great - BUT the price!Yet, I have a project for my son that calls for 5 different lams; table legs and apron. Two are about seven feet long, the other two about four - each with a different shape. The widest section is about 7", which makes quite a stack of plywood or MDF for the bending forms. Now the price seems, not more reasonable, but more worth consideration. (I love my son.)Have you tried either one of these - or do you have a recommendation?JerryFrosty“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert,
in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.” Milton Friedman
Thanks ! ! !
I just put it in my NetFlix list.
That is just the sort of thing I been hoping to find to watch. I been wanting to learn more about how the finish is done on a piano. Haven't found much. Hope they go into that as well.
Thanks again for your post.
roc
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
I hope you enjoy.Watch carefully at the beginning to see how, or if, they laminate the 'shell'.Frosty“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert,
in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.” Milton Friedman
They didn't talk about the finish much. I did learn that the Steinways made in New York have a Satin finish but the ones that come out of the factory in Germany have a gloss finish....unless you special order one.
>didn't talk about the finish much<Must be a secret. Or they want to play it close to the vest.
Thanks for the warning.rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
Edited 12/5/2009 11:33 pm by roc
About the only piano I;m capable of using is a "player piano". And, the 'rolls' are getting pretty scarce, while the music style is somewhat out of favor.I guess I'll stick to whistling.Frosty“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert,
in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.” Milton Friedman
> About the only piano I;m capable of using is a "player piano".
I feel your pain. I have the same problem typing on a computer keyboard. Ever since I switched to a player keyboard, I've enjoyed surfing the innernet a lot more. Only a few side effects OH SUSANNA! OH DON'T YOU CRY FOR ME!!! ♫ doo-doo-DOOT doo doo doooo dooo deee dooo, doo DOOT doo DOOT doo DOOOOOO. ♫ ♫---------------/dev
I seem to remember an article that said they put 17 hand rubbed coats on. Early ones were French polished.
Hey Boiler Thanks !So shellac all the way through? Pigment in the top coats or maybe all of them? Can't put lacquer over several coats of built up shellac I think.Is the article accessible on line ?rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )
Roc,I don't recall the source - it may have been on real paper somewhere. The shellac was more in reference to the early ones and to the unique special pianos -- what Steinway calls the "Crown Jewel Collection" -- Where the shells are made of Bubinga, Ebony, Sapele etc. These are in the $200K and up range. Most of the traditional "black" ones are base pigment over base grain filler (plaster of Paris) followed by layer upon layer of rubbed lacquer(the older with the more physically flexible and dangerous nitrocellulose, the newer - probably since about 1950-acrylic for speed of drying over nitro and very hard and now most likely water based acrylic. It is more than likely ( my opinion only) that they probably use a proprietary mixture.
I've often thought it would be a somewhat of hoot to try this kind of finish on a project - perhaps a delicate box or a round tuit.Boiler
Found this..
From Instrument to Steinway
Steinway craftsmen transform those woods into components ranging from massive to delicate. Steinway grand piano rims, for example, consist of eighteen 3/16 inch thick layers of Eastern rock maple and, with our bell-quality, full cast-iron plate, withstands 45,373 pounds of tension exerted by the strings
http://www.steinwaydfw.com/instruments/steinway/about-steinway-pianos
EDIT: Sorry I had to!
Steinway is first class all the way EXECPT for the videos on ther web pages!
Edited 12/8/2009 1:05 pm by WillGeorge
That answers my question!
Thanks for finding the info, Mr. Bloodhound.JerryFrosty“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert,
in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.” Milton Friedman
“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert,in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.”
If you put me in charge as King of the Sahara Desert,, I would have water piped in and many, many sand boxes for children to play in.
Your Highness,Will you put me in charge of Palm Trees?Frosty“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert,
in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.” Milton Friedman
Frosty,
The video you saw on Netflix was documentary shot by PBS, here is their page describing the documentary; http://www.pbs.org/notebynote/.. Needless to say watching a grand piano in the making is some amazing stuff..
Very interesting stuff. Thanks for sending me the reference.Jerry FrostFrosty“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert,
in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.” Milton Friedman
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