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I ALSO POSTED THIS TO THE TECHNICIANS FORUM!
Hoping maybe a Piano Dealer/Rebuilder will be able to direct me!
(Rich, Sam, etc)
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Hello Everyone,

Is there a resource that lists the Brands of parts used in Steinway Pianos from 1900 - 1920's?

IE:
Action parts? (Whippens)
Hammers?
Ivory Keys?
Strings?
etc etc etc

I am especially looking for a list of Brand Names on parts from a Steinway & Sons Model A II (1912-1913)
(I am not looking at what is currently used but what was used back in the 1900's)

thanks for any assistance
brdwyguy

Steinway was making many of their own parts at that time, brdwyguy. They even had a section of the factory that cast their frames.

Maybe I am reading your questions wrong. Let me know if this is not what you meant.

Thanks Rich
Yes that is exactly what I meant! LOL
Hope you are doing well?

brdwyguy
JDM

PS yes, it's my belief that the Steinway Cast Frame from their own factory is a good part of what truly made that
Steinway sound!

Oh GOOD!


Let's see...

1) My daughter got married in November.
2) Her husband is from The Netherlands and the marriage took place 4 days after the US lifted the travel ban from Europe because of COVID.
3) In December, I sang onstage with Andrea Bocelli here in Philly (for the third time).
4) Some family members and friends became ill over the past few weeks, but NONE of them tested positive for COVID (just nasty bugs).
5) All of my family is currently healthy and well.
6) Business is good.
7) I get to do what I love everyday.
8) I get to know people like you and the rest of PianoWorld.

I could talk about negative things in my life, but considering all of the above, how could I concentrate on anything negative? Yep - I am doing very well.

Thank you for asking JDM. I hope I see you in Philly sometime soon. (You do still have family up here, right?)

Gee, wish I could say yes.
Only have a few distant cousins there now.
Most of my close family are gone, sad to say.

But
Life is wonderful down here in Hendersonville NC
Just got back from Disney World and missed the huge snowstorm that hit here

brdwyguy
JDM

PS maybe it's a good thing I don't live up there.
I'd be up at the King of Prussia store every week - trying out lots of pianos and asking a million questions hehehehehehe

With all of the negative stuff we get bombarded with on a daily basis, it's refreshing to hear that things are going well for you and your family. We all need to count our blessings. Cheers.

Not to hijack the thread, but understand this statement "...They even had a section of the factory that cast their frames...." as stating some makers didn't cast their own frames? If so, how fascinating!

ks

Most manufacturers did not cast their own frames, and that is probably true to this day. With the collapse of the piano manufacturing trade in the US, Steinway bought one of the two plate casting factories in Ohio, so they are casting their own frames again, but now at the O. S. Kelly foundry. They also ship them to Hamburg now.

I believe Mason & Hamlin gets their plates cast in China. I am not certain about Charles Walter.

Casting plates requires specialized skills, space requirements, and equipment beyond what most manufacturers would be competent to supply. Yamaha, of course, has the capability, so they can make their own, too.

So apparently Steinway has purchased O.S Kelly, Kluge, and recently Renner.They certainly know how to stay on top of things.(so to speak)

S&S has been savvy about vertical integration.

Then no excuses about not building the best pianos possible!
😉 😲 😳 (just being cheeky)

Well, in the spirit of cheekiness, I should mention that Yamaha has had complete integration their top line of pianos, but also on virtually all their acoustic pianos for many decades.

Regrettably Yamaha's last remaining lathe cutter retired a few years ago though so they are now having to buy in their machine screws. I don't think they manage their own forests any more either