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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 8, 2006 Don Steinert of Provolt pulls an 1883 piano cabinet he�s been commissioned to restore into the finishing room of his shop. The rare grand concert piano will be worth some $600,000 when it is restored. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli The keys to restoration Provolt man putting a rare, 1883 piano back into prime condition — one piece at a time By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune PROVOLT — Master finisher Don Steinert hasn’t refinished an antique piano in more than 20 years, but he hasn’t forgotten the tune. "Refinishing an old piano might seem glamorous but there is a lot of grunt work involved," he said while taking a break in his Provolt area shop. "There are a lot of unpredictables, a lot of challenges." Yet the former Grants Pass High School shop teacher, known as one of the nation’s top specialists in repairing and restoring wood parts in luxury cars, loves the challenges of refinishing a rare grand concert piano built in 1883 by Rudolph Ebach & Sohn in Bayreuth, Germany. The unusual instrument was a commemorative model for the firm celebrating its 100th year of business. In addition, the firm wanted to honor hometown hero Richard Wagner, the renown German composer who died that year. Advertisement The piano is owned by Obi Manteufel of Tacoma, Wash., a former concert pianist who has been collecting and restoring old pianos for more than 30 years. Manteufel has restored 47 pianos, including an 1892 concert grand piano for the opening of the new home of the Seattle Symphony, an 1880 Bechstein for a conservatory in Taiwan and an 1876 Centennial Steinway for the USA Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. He also has a collection of 17 antique pianos, dating from 1795 to 1903. "I learned of Don from word of mouth — through a refinisher in Seattle," Manteufel explained in a telephone interview, noting the difficulty of finding high quality craftsmanship. Known in Europe for his interest in historically significant pianos, Manteufel was tipped off by a German antique dealer about the existence of the Ebach in a village near Leipzig. Manteufel found it in a stone barn with a leaky roof next to a pond. The antique was partially submerged in water. That was in 1976. Even though the piano was in bad shape, Manteufel knew he had found quality work. "Ebach was one of the oldest piano makers in Europe," he said, noting that the piano was made during a period when the best of the "modern" pianos were built. For instance, the soundboards were painstakingly hand-planed with the craftsman relying on a sense of touch, he said. Manteufel, who has learned to make soundboards the traditional way, has replaced the old one which was no longer sound. All told, he and assistants have spent some 1,300 hours restoring the strings, action framework and soundboard. "Ebach was admired by Wagner," he said. "They produced the Richard Wagner concert models of which this is one. And I’ve never seen another one." He estimates it will be worth some $600,000 when fully restored. Steinert, a young-looking 57, figures he will have about 250 hours into the project when it is completed. The target is to have it done by the end of the month. Twin daughters Alanna and Emily, 23, are giving him a hand. Alanna is a third-grade teacher at White City Elementary School while Emily is a senior nursing student at Oregon Health & Science University. Steinert, who has a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from Santa Clara University and a master’s degree in counseling from San Francisco State, last refinished a piano for a customer in 1982. Much of his work has been refinishing Rolls-Royce interior woodwork and vintage Mercedes. The piano was originally black, thanks to a thin veneer no thicker than a fingernail, he observed. "But we’re not even sure what kind of wood that is — it’s darker than walnut," he said. "That’s a good example of the kind of mystery that can surround something like this." He held up the ornate music stand which once held the sheet music. "This was so deteriorated, just falling apart," he said. "We had to put a new veneer on one side first, then cut it all out by hand. We used utility knives and files." A glazing compound, the same used in autobody work, has been applied to some sections of the piano frame. "It has a very fine texture and sands very nicely," he said as he ran his hand over the light green material. But it is only one of some 20 steps in the long process to refinish it, he said. Hours of sanding and buffing are ahead. After the lacquer finish is applied, it will be sanded with four different grits of sand paper, ending with extremely fine 2,000 grit. "It’s all wet sanding — we use a solution of water with a little dish detergent in it," he said. "It’ll have a high gloss." Upon completing the project, he will begin refinishing an antique Steinway for Manteufel. But don’t expect him to play either one. "I took piano lessons for a year," Steinert said. "I made such little progress I said to hell with it. I don’t have any talent there." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at The keys to restoration ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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