Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Seeking Steinway Model O Top Lid

This is a long shot but it never hurts to ask....

The rather rough Steinway Model O that I've been given has a heavy top lid from some other piano. (The movers thought it was from a Baldwin). The lid fits pretty well and will keep out the dust, but it's very heavy, doesn't look right, and has the prop receptacle in the wrong place.

If anyone has the top lid from a model O, I'd be delighted to buy it from you and arrange shipping. I live near Dayton, Ohio.

Thanks in advance,

AJ

What finish is the piano? We can make one for you if you wish.

Dear Folks,

David Hughes in California has a speciality business for just such an occasion.

http://www.vintagecaseparts.com/index.html

Nice products.

I do see the 'O'-lid in there, too!

OOOooooooops! I meant Maryland, not Cali!

Dang fingers...z...

;-)

David does fine work.

It was once black satin. Today, it's black chips. )-:

I've seen some prices for new top lids, and while I'd love to have a beautiful new lid on my instrument, it'll be quite a while before I'd be ready to spend that kind of money for one. I do have two functional reasons to want the right lid though: the Baldwin lid on the piano is apparently made from particle board, which makes it so heavy that it discourages me from closing the instrument to keep the dust out and the Dampp-Chaser humidity in; and the prop socket is about 3/4" too far back, which would put a strain on the prop's hinge if I kept the lid up much.

Thanks for the reply,

Andy

Very nice I'm sure, but I'm concentrating my budget on the action at this time. The keys will be re-bushed in a couple of weeks, and new hammers, shanks, and damper felts are going in shortly after that.

Still, someday it'd be great to make this a beautiful-looking instrument as well as one that's a pleasure to play and, hopefully, to hear.

Thanks,

Andy

Another thought Andy,

Just because the lid is well chipped it does not necessarily mean that the lid needs replacing (unless a trusted technician has already told you this is your best option).

If the lid is stable and has not shown signs of sagging, it could easily be repaired.

Ebony satin is a particularly easu repair because it usually requires no - or at least less - veneer work than a wood finish.

My 2 cents,

Just looking at this thread to get away from a problem I can't solve, would it be possible to move the prop socket or find/invent an alternative prop? That would buy you the time you need to find an 'O' lid. Meanwhile opening and closing the lid will have to be good exercise!

Actually the reason I want a Steinway lid is that the lid on my Steinway comes from a Baldwin. Its finish is fine, much better than the rest of the instrument.

But it's really heavy, doesn't look right and doesn't fit quite right, but it will keep the dust out and, as another poster pointed out, will help keep my biceps toned if I use it regularly.

Yes, I think some kind of prop workaround is quite possible. I'll try to do something more elegant than a previous owner did with the music desk.... I noticed a mystery spike protruding up from the grooved cross-piece. A little investigation revealed that the very handy past owner had fixed the broken piece with a wood screw which was about 3/32" too long!

I had a similar thing with nails - did more harm than good.
Luckily a picture frame maker was able to make a copy.

It might be possible to find a lid from a storm-damaged piano, but anyone who has suffered that much damage has lots of other problems, and is not going to be especially concerned about saving it for you. It would cost a lot to save a lid and ship it to you, so there is not going to be a tremendous amount of savings over having a new lid made.

Email Steinway's parts department and price a new lid.

I would guess about $1500 for both front and back lids.

At least twice that, finished.

Some day maybe, but I think if I'm patient and keep looking I'll eventually find a salvaged one for a whole let less money.


Thanks,

Andy

Don't some concert setups remove the lid altogether? Use a string cover instead?

Yes, I've seen that. My wife has enough trouble with the piano's volume with the back part of the lid closed, I think she might have to find new quarters if I insisted on taking the thing off!

Andy

I see. Another topic for another thread another time (oops).

Yes, but 5'10.5" hardly counts as a concert grand