Piano Restoration:

At some point in the life of your piano it will be time to restore the action with new parts. If the instrument is used eight hours a day it may be only three years old when you need to start thinking about piano restoration. If you use it occasionally, it may still be good after twenty or more years. But new hammers usually sound better than old ones, so think of twenty years or so as maximum hammer life. Piano restoration can improve the action on many pianos significantly before that time as well. Shanks, flanges, wippens, cloth and key bushings may also be worn or damaged by time and humidity changes. If the keys move side to side, the hammers have deep grooves, the action makes rattling noises when you play or the keys are heavy and unresponsive, it may be time to rebuild. An action rebuild job should include replacing the parts, regulating, balancing, tuning and voicing. If your piano's action isn't as fluid as you would like, it may be time to consider piano restoration.