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I drove over to Elkhart, Indiana yesterday and toured the Charles Walter manufacturing facility. Here's a link to a few general impressions and some photos:

http://home.netcom.com/~arch2/Walter.html

Hope you enjoy.

Cool pictures. Thanks Dwain.

Nice job Dwain.
Looks like a fun tour, hope I can make it sometime.

Thanks for the pictures (and captions).

Dwain, that was fantastic! I like the way your mind works, you would be a lot of fun tag along with when poking around old historic buildings, houses, and such. This must've been really interesting for someone who is in the middle of a piano rebuild. (how's that going, by the way, have you had any time to work on it lately?)

Thanks for the "second hand" tour, I really enjoyed it.

Jodi

Thanks, Dwain, for the tour! Your running commentary made it fun and instructive.

Chris

Great pics Dwain,certainly better than most manufacturers sales material.

A great tour, both text and pictures. Thanks!

Very informative. Thank you.

Great pictures and tour! The Walter company is a class operation and one of only a handful of manufacturers left making pianos the right way here in the U.S. All that is missing is a shot of Kevin Walter signing the pianos when they are done or of his sister Rachel having another baby!

brief explanation:

Rachel has about.....let's see.....52 kids...or 5 - I forget which.

Very funny RJ!

Great pics Dwain! wish I could have been there with you.

I did mean a picture of her holding the baby, you know, fully clothed and all. I wasn't talking about an action shot of the actual delivery itself. You all do know that, right? :rolleyes:

Dwain, great pictures, and nice website setup as well.
Were there many other people on the tour other than yourself? From intro to coda, how long did the tour take? [were you a PITA, getting all the shots? (you don't HAVE to answer that one, I just thought I'd give RJ McIetc a straight line he didn't have to deliver himself)]

The picture of the big press used to make the inner and outer rings was pretty impressive. (6th from the last , with the white coated technician holding what looks like a large power nut driver.) It looks like the press itself was also built from laminated wood. Is that correct?

Bob

Dwain, this is a beautiful job and a lot of fun to ramble through. What stuns me most, however, is the timing. Let me get this right - you toured the factory yesterday (Monday) and posted this, photos and all the very next day?? How??? Do you sleep?

awestruck,

Ariel

Dwain, whatever you do - it's like a textbook to me. Thank you! I even copied your account of a wedding and saved it - I intend to give it to my students as a reading class, if of course you don't mind.

Thanks all for the comments, I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures. A few answers to various folks.

The tour took about an hour, I'd guess. In retrospect, I would have loved to have taken more time, asked even more questions, had a bigger memory card in the camera, etc. I tried very hard not to be a PITA, and if I was, my guide and the staff were very gracious in hiding any annoyance.

As someone who has been known to sign some of his own work myself, I wish I did actually get a picture of a Walter signing one of the pianos. That would really have been great.

The picture of the big rim press is my favorite, too!

I was only able to put that page up so quickly because I ended up sitting at home tending to a sick kid yesterday, so I had some time on my hands.

Cephas, of course you have my permission to use the wedding story, or any other posts - although it really frightens me that an entire class of Bulgarian youth might be ruined for life studying my words.

Gotta run,

Personally, I think that the youth of Bulgaria will be well served.

Very good job, Mr. Lee.

Dwain,

I'm envious! Thanks for letting those of us who can't do the tour, live vicariously through your words and pictures.

The pictures were great. I too liked the rim press photo!

Hello Dwain

From a piano lover to another, a million thanks for sharing your visit. The pictures a GREAT

Jeffrey

Yes. The rim press is made of laminated maple/poplar plywood cut to shape then glued and screwed together to form separate inner and outer cauls. The clamps are tightened using a very large air-operated impact wrench.

Del

Thanks Dwain, I really enjoyed seeing the tour.
You did a great job!

Dwain, do you have an opinion on the Walter Grand? I just made an appointment to try one here in Maine.