Restoration workshop
Our services
A piano restoration workshop
Why have your piano restored ?
Your piano no longer has the brilliance of its youth, it is worn by time. Vital parts of your instrument are damaged, broken or missing, we can provide solutions. Restoration is part of our core business as an artisan.
In our workshop, we can fully restore your piano, intervening on all parts of the instrument while respecting its origin, materials and age.
Our qualified and experienced technicians have all the skills needed to give your piano a second life, while preserving its original sound and soul.
The three parts of the piano on which we intervene are:
- the harmonic structure
- mechanical keyboard assembly
- a piece of furniture
We have been recognized as an artisan d’art by the Chambre Métiers et de l’Artisanat des Hauts de France.
All our restorations and repairs are guaranteed for 5 years parts and labor.
The harmonic structure
At the heart of the piano
This is the set of strings, frame, soundboard and pintable: it is the soul of the piano.
The soundboard
The sound of the piano comes from the soundboard, and each piano has its own unique sound.
The soundboard, which is made of spruce, must be protected from variations in temperature and humidity, or it will eventually split. The sound is then altered and loses length and dynamics. Cracks can be repaired with flipots.
The work consists of dismantling all the strings and pegs, and removing the cast-iron frame to gain access to the central part of the piano. This table must then be completely sanded in order to be wood against wood for shimming. This operation consists of digging a furrow at the location of the slot to adjust a custom-made shim. This restores homogeneity to the table and a tension necessary for its good resonance. This table must then be protected by a varnish that we carry out ourselves, respecting old methods and using products that respect the environment.
The pintable
It’s the part hidden beneath the pegs that holds them in tension. The bed base is often made of beech or maple multi-ply. When the pinning really does not hold the tuning of the piano any more, it is necessary to change the pintable.
The frame
The frame is cast iron. Its role is to maintain the enormous tension that exists in a piano. Frame tension can vary from 18 to 24 tons. It must not have undergone any shock in its life to be optimal. Its restoration is essentially aesthetic: gilding, varnish and harmonic markers.
The strings
They are made of tempered steel, thin in the treble and spun in the bass, that is to say wrapped in copper. It is important in the restoration to respect the densities of steel according to the period of the piano. Softer steel in the 19th century, basses wired in brass or copper, blued or chrome-plated pegs. The quality of the strings is very important, as they contribute to the sound of the piano.
The keyboard/mechanical assembly
Behind the piano keys
Adjusting the piano (keyboard and/or action) is very important, as it ensures the pianist’s touch and playing comfort.
A finely tuned piano is much more precise in expressing nuances, bringing out melodic lines, providing assistance to the pianist’s playing. A badly tuned piano loses its dynamic potential, can go so far as to give the pianist the impression that the instrument is bad.
Adjustment of the keyboard-mechanical assembly can be carried out either in the workshop or at the customer’s premises.
Adjusting the keyboard of your piano means first and foremost straightening it, that is to say removing the play between the keyboard and the action (by the pilot) and ensuring that the surface of your keyboard is flat. Then key by key, we adjust the depth of each.
Adjustment of the action mainly concerns the piano hammer. It’s about sending it bouncing off the ropes, with the right attack (the escape), the right bounce (the catch), and the right repetition. Everything must obviously be free of play and well aligned.
Restoration of furniture
Piano aesthetics
Restoring a piano also means restoring the piano cabinet. We work just as well on modern pianos (polyester or polyurethane varnish) as on old pianos (buffer varnish).
On modern furniture, we can clean the original varnish or completely redo it when the marks are important. The fittings (hinges, pedals) are also completely overhauled and polished.
On old furniture, there is first a work of cabinetmaking (repair of moldings, veneers and marquetry) then a work of varnisher (stripping of the old varnish and application of a varnish with a buffer) with shellac and alcohol.
All these preparations are homemade with in the workshop.