Homepage - Friends of square pianos

Please remember that the rôle of Friends of Square Pianos is just to help with contact.
I play no part in any transactions, neither do I make any charges to either seller or buyer. I have not personally seen these pianos; all information is given in good faith, on the basis of details provided by the seller.

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Pianos for Sale

An interesting seection from John Burns, who, like many of us, has collected more pianos than we can realistically complete. These were all considered to be good propositions, and some of the primary work has been done - over to you to finish the job!

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First of all (and my favourite) an early William Rolfe, with the beautiful floral nameboard, in the earliest style with a 'plain' (rather than black or dark green) background for the Maker's name.

Action complete. No strings (Friends can offer advice). New soundboard and wrestplank. Pedal missing as usual. Castors missing on trestle stand. N.B. serious twists are common on Rolfes (because of the design of the stucture) but this one looks pretty good. Price £550

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Next, a nice Goulding Phipps D'Almaine.

Action and strings complete. Requires a replacement hitchpin block, as the original is woodworm-damaged. Missing stand. A bargain at £225.

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Or how about a nice Tomkison, number 229? "Maker to the Prince Regent" - therefore made between 1810 and 1820. Some dampers missing [Friends have originals for sale]. Pedal is present, but complications with other legs.

£450

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And finally, a useful Broadwood - just like my first piano (hence lots of advice - wanted or not...)

This one dates from 1826 - perhaps the high-point of Broadwoods' dominance of the Piano Industry. Hammers & Dampers all present, but need re-hingeing. No strings. Pedal leg missing. Could be a good-sounding piano, and surely an ideal first project at £300. (Mine cost £250, but that was very many years ago...)

To enquire about any of these, please contact John Burns at burns.organs@virginmedia.com

Note that this is an indirect link to the seller, so there may be some delay, but all enquiries will be considered in order of receipt.

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I have been happy to make a few strings (including covered ones) to help Friends with restoration projects. However, although I do not have 'overheads' to cover, it doesn't seem quite right that I should take advantage of this to undercut the Professionals, who are also Friends.
I have therefore decided to agree to do these at realistic prices, with the difference that all the money will go to my favourite charity - Cats Protection. Prices will be:
Plain strings - £4.50 each (possible deals for multiple short iron strings)
Open covered - £10.50 each.

To make strings, I need to know:
- the total length from hitchpin to wrestpin (I will allow for the winding round the wrestpin)
- the diameter and material
- the eye-length. I can do plain or 'Broadwood' loops.

Open-covered strings are usually brass, with either plain (red) copper or tinned copper windings. Please note that my strings have right-hand helixes - like a normal screw thread. Some pianos have left-handed strings. Acoustically, this does not matter at all, but a mixture can look slightly odd.

If in doubt about material or diameter, I may be able to help. Send the broken one, perhaps? Or for 'new' restorations, we have a data bank.

I'm not really keen on doing close-covered (too stressful) but I could make the effort for the odd one for £15.

Wrestpins will be made to order, and I can do diameters of 4.5, 5.0, 5.6, and 6.0 mm approximately. Lengths as needed. Please note that these are hand-forged, and therefore slightly irregular - just like the real ones! Standard (blue-black) finish £1 each, £1.50 for bright (or you can clean them up yourself!)

So I'll still be out-of-pocket (the materials and labour will be my contribution) and it's possible we can help the cats - see www.wellrushcats.co.uk to see what we get up to.

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Piano Parts

We have a selection of piano parts including hammers, dampers, and spring-guards which may be helpful for restorations. Note that the hammers include two styles of extra-notes, as well as main section. There is not enough for a full set, but this may help to fill the gaps which are so common. These are available in return for donations (at your discretion - please don't forget postage!) to Cats Protection as above. There is a 'donate' button on the website which can accept payments from all cards: this is especially convenient for Friends from overseas. Please email David on friends.sp@btinternet.com with details of what you need.

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For Sale

This cloth has been especially made for the keyboards of early 19^th century pianos but is suitable for many other early keyboard instruments. It is authentic in matching the texture, colour and thickness of the original cloth found in these instruments.

The composition is 100% wool, 137cms (54 inches) wide. It is approximately 2.5mm thick. (1.5mm under light compression)

The price per 50cm length (137 cm wide) is £35 with a discount for 3 metres and over. The minimum quantity available is 20cm, (137 cm wide) and is priced at £20. This length is normally sufficient for one instrument. Please ask for quotation to include post and packing. VAT is not payable.