Kent Webb dives into Steinway parts lore - Seattle P.T.G. Convention

My first class this morning was all about rebuilding Steinway actions but specifically from a parts stand point. None of the typical "rebuilding" topics were covered and for good reason. While there's an endless amount to know about action rebuilding, what Kent wanted to demonstrate was that Steinway actions have a consistency in parts that date back 100 years.

His presentation showed actions geometry from different eras and compared things like center pin relationships, knuckle placement, jack placement, and even action rail variation. The slide to the left is of back-actions dating from the 1880's to today. The differences were not subtle but Kent showed that the modern Steinway parts can be retro fitted to pianos from earlier eras with minimal modifications.

The class also touched on different backcheck designs with an impressive video of how Hamburg factory technicians install a set of backchecks. Even though the to the right slide clearly shows that Modern Steinway backchecks are significantly smaller, Steinway has beefed up the wire as to not alter the touch weight. A more stable backcheck regulation is an additional benefit.

There was also a great slide showing the possible combinations of the action parts currently available from Steinway. Modern, Pre-1984, and Hamburg parts were tested for touch weight both down and up, and in all possible combinations the Modern Steinway parts won out.

It was a great class. Kent's presentation was both clear and entertaining. The big point Kent was hoping to make was that Steinway action rebuilds can be the most successful rebuilds you can do.

It was a point that I definitely got. Thanks Kent.