A piano has thousands of moving parts, and all of them wear with playing, age and Cape Town’s climate. Keith repairs piano mechanisms and keys in his Cape Town workshop, and checks for early signs of trouble at every piano tuning, so small problems are fixed before they become expensive.
Repairs Keith does
- Sticking, slow or silent keys
- Worn hammers reshaped or replaced
- Loose or swollen felt bushings
- Hard dampers, dull bass strings, loose tuning pins
- Damage from mice and moths
Cabinet work & moving
- Keith’s workshop isn’t set up for cabinet or case repairs
- He works with experienced cabinet restorers and will recommend one
- If the piano has to travel, he can recommend reliable piano movers
Common piano repairs
Most repairs come down to one of four causes. Tap a heading to read more.
Heavy use
Hammers become deeply grooved from striking the strings. Every so often they should be reshaped (refaced) by filing away a thin layer of felt to level the striking surface. After several refacings there isn’t enough felt left, and the hammers need replacing.
The felt bushings in the keys and mechanism also wear loose with heavy playing and need replacing from time to time.
Age
Over 30 years or more, the felt on the hammers and dampers hardens, which changes the tone. Dampers need to be soft to stop a string cleanly; hard dampers can make a sound of their own as they touch the string.
Strings age too. The lowest bass notes often go dull as the copper windings loosen, which can sometimes be fixed by twisting the strings to tighten the windings.
Damp and dry weather
Damp: moisture swells the bushings in the mechanism, so hammers and jacks return sluggishly. The fix is to dismantle the mechanism, ream the bushings and fit new centre pins.
Dry: extreme dryness has the opposite effect, and parts become loose and noisy. Here the centre pins are replaced with slightly thicker ones. Dryness can also loosen the tuning pins, so the piano won’t hold its tuning.
Mice and moths
Mice like to nest under the keys of a piano that isn’t played often. They chew out the bridle tapes for nesting material and can do a lot of damage.
Moths lay their eggs in the mechanism, and the larvae can destroy almost every felt part in the action and under the keys.
Regular tuning visits are the best protection, because Keith checks for signs of pests every time.
How a repair works
- Tell Keith what’s wrong. Describe the problem in the form below. Photos or a short video help.
- He’ll advise what’s needed. Many repairs can be done in your home, often at the same visit as a tuning.
- Workshop repairs. If parts such as the action or keys need bench work, Keith takes them to his workshop. The piano itself stays put.
Ask about a repair
Describe the problem and Keith will advise on what’s needed.