It's time for fun and learning at Chuck Behm's River City Piano Restorations in Boone, Iowa - home of the Piano Technician Journal's "Small Shop, Big Results"! Two weeks (July 25 - August 6) of hands-on personalized instruction covering vital beginning phases of vintage upright restoration. Come by the day ($150 / day), by the week ($720 / 6 day week) or attend the whole 2 week 12 day session ($1200). (Prices do not include lodging or meals, but there are both budget motels and camping facilities in the Boone area.) (CLASSES FOR SUMMER SESSION NOW FULL)
The curriculum for your experience will be individualized to match the specific repairs / procedures you are interested in learning about. A vintage upright piano in desperate need of a complete restoration has been obtained for the beginning of an extreme make-over. Initial topics will include, but not be limited to:
Tear-down of case parts
Stripping body and case parts
Veneer work / patching and regluing
Laquer stick work
Staining case parts
Applying 3-coat, hand-rubbed, brushed on finish (our shop's specialty)
C.A. treatment of loose tuning pins
Repinning with oversize pins
Treble string removal and miking for stringing schedule
Bass string removal and bundling for duplication
Removal of the cast iron plate
Gluing loose ribs
Bolting the back together
Shimming cracks in the soundboard
Bridge repair
Refinishing the soundboard
Routing out pinfields
Cutting pinblock panels
Drilling panels on the drill press
Installing pinblock panels
Reinstalling the cast iron plate
Stringing and pinning
Achieving uniform beckets and coils
At a later winter school session (dates to be announced) we will focus on action work and key work to finish up the make-over.
I can't tell you how excited I am to offer this class to my friends in the piano repair trade. I spent 36 years in the classroom (moonlighting with my piano business on the side) and now after a decade of running my shop and my tuning business full time, I'm chompin' at the bit to get back to teaching again - this time in the shop instead of with Shakespeare!
I'll do my absolute best to make this an experience you'll remember in a positive light for the rest of your career. Enroll soon before the class is full!
Click on the on-line-store to enroll for AUTUMN SESSION to secure your spot.