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I received a letter from a lady who has an 1860 William Bradbury NY T.G. Smith Successor Square Grand. She and her father have done some refinishing and cleaning. In my experience and research Square Grands are Bad news but I still would like some other opinions. Any help woud be appreciated. Thanks

Square grands do make a nice museum peice. They can be made to play and sound half way good, but at a lot of expence and time. they are a major pain to tune because of the location of the tuning pins to the keyboard. therefore the price of tuning them goes way up as well. They do make an interesting project if you have the money and the time to completely rebuild them, but there again, I prefere to see them in a museum as a display item.

Hey T- we do maybe one every other year or so, mainly because of the astronomical cost (usually $6000.-$8000.) and the fact that I stress that even then, the piano will not even remotely perform like any modern piano. Every one we have ever done has been a family heirloom that they want done just for looks. I would refuse the job if they expected a well performing musical instrument, but, Lord, they are great to look at........Sam

thank you so much on the info, I just about purchased on of these, and yes it is a very nice piece of furniture, but that was not the only reason to buy a piano. I really had no idea, what I would have been getting myself into, and I would have heard I told you so from my spouse, thanks again

Way back (32 years ago( I took on a job repairing an old square. I was a rookie. What did I know? Does the word Titanic mean anything to you?
Never again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I did take on a 2nd job on a square a few years later. I made it into a dice table.

We are just now finishing one, an 1855 Chase with a long family history. Beautiful rosewood, but thankfully my client listened when I advised against his using it for a primary piano for his children to learn on. It plays OK, and looks fabulous, but definitely not a piano I would want to play or learn on....Sam