James Carney PianoWorks

James Carney PianoWorks Highest quality comprehensive piano rebuilding and sales in Industry City, Brooklyn. New soundboards/pinblocks/bridges/actions/etc.

We also sell rebuilt Steinway grands and other quality makes, and we tune, repair, regulate, voice, & service all pianos.

Complete success removing the original factory pinblock from our client's 1967 NY Steinway Model D concert grand. In the...
02/04/2026

Complete success removing the original factory pinblock from our client's 1967 NY Steinway Model D concert grand.

In the last two pics we are drilling out 1 of the 5 original 1/2" rock maple dowels using a Forstner bit; then using a pullsaw to complete the cut line of our router work all along the length of the front stretcher. All of our glue joints remain completely intact; ready for the new pinblock installation.

01/30/2026

Removing the original factory pinblock from a late 1960s NY Steinway Model D concert grand. and created this amazing 4" diameter router cutting blade that makes quick work of 5-ply rock maple.

Thanks to for the idea to put the camera on the keybed. And for pulling the plug on the router at the finish line.

01/21/2026

Using a pneumatic die grinder to reshape the capo d'astro bars of our client's late 1960s NY Steinway Model D concert grand.

01/21/2026

Using our pneumatic die grinder to reshape, profile, and remove decades of string cuts from the cast iron capo d'astro bars of our client's late 1960s NY Steinway Model D concert grand.

The objective is to turn U-shaped bars into V-shaped bars, which ultimately means better string terminations, easier tuning, slower decay, longer sustain, and a noticeable improvement in tone.

Underway now with our current build: a 1967 NY Steinway Model D concert grand (9') for a NYC client. We'll replace the p...
01/14/2026

Underway now with our current build: a 1967 NY Steinway Model D concert grand (9') for a NYC client.

We'll replace the pinblock; recap partial areas of the treble bridge, tweak the downbearing everywhere, and replace several plate dowels. We are also going to shape & polish the capo d'astro bars, replace the agraffes, rescale the bass strings, and replace the entire backaction/damper system. Then, on to a completely customized action and set of hammers.

Today, we removed the plate, but before doing so, we studied the current downbearing and made some quick adjustments to the plate height, which will likely result in a marked improvement.

Thrilled to announce the completion of our latest build for our esteemed client ; a 1972 NY Steinway Model D concert gra...
11/13/2025

Thrilled to announce the completion of our latest build for our esteemed client ; a 1972 NY Steinway Model D concert grand piano.

Last December, John, Aaron, and I found this diamond in the rough, and although it needed massive amounts of work and was basically unplayable, we knew it had excellent potential.

We kept the soundboard - which is in incredibly beautiful shape - but we've replaced the entire action, the backaction (damper system), modified the trapwork, replaced the agraffes, strings, all felt, cloth, leather; and tweaked the geometry with customized hammers and a reweighed keyset.

Please see our last 8 posts or so for details on the journey we've been through with this absolute beast of a piano. It should be ready for tracking in early December.


Sculpting, customizing, and gluing up a beautiful set of new bacon felt Ronsen hammers for our current client build of a...
08/08/2025

Sculpting, customizing, and gluing up a beautiful set of new bacon felt Ronsen hammers for our current client build of a 1972 NY Steinway Model D concert grand piano.

We love the quarter-sawn silver maple mouldings and overall craftsmanship of these hammers, which should provide our client - a busy Brooklyn recording studio - with years of sonic excellence.

The prep process included a customized tapered bore; custom coving, side tapering on the table saw to hit our targeted strike weights with precision; customized tail arcing for perfect checking; and, last but not least...using our ears to find the sweet spot aurally of the fore/aft positions of the hammers prior to glueup.

This 1972 Steinway Model D concert grand - our current build for a Brooklyn recording studio client - will be making mus...
08/01/2025

This 1972 Steinway Model D concert grand - our current build for a Brooklyn recording studio client - will be making music in just a matter of days. Today, we're leveling keys and customizing the new Ronsen bacon felt hammers to maximize touch, tone, and responsiveness.

We've implemented a custom hammer bore, custom cove, side tapering to remove wood to achieve our target strike weights, and custom tail arcing. (Note the before & after pics of the hammer on the scale: Due to the action ratio of the modern piano, removing 1 gram of hammer weight results in a weight reduction of about 5 grams at the key.)



Over the last few days, we've made excellent progress on our current project for a highly regarded Brooklyn recording st...
07/25/2025

Over the last few days, we've made excellent progress on our current project for a highly regarded Brooklyn recording studio client. It's a 1972 NY Steinway Model D concert grand piano, and we are now entering the final phase of completion!

We've routed the bottoms of the keys at the front mortises - to better accept the new bushing cloth we will be installing.

We've also engaged in some serious deep cleaning and polishing of every keypin on the keyframe, thanks to our excellent technician . In these pics, you'll also see him working with a fresh batch of hot hide glue, followed by installation of the new key bushing cloth. You'll also notice that we've removed some excess leads from the sides of the keys, the holes of which then receive fresh 2-part wood epoxy to retain key strength.

New highest quality Wurzen conical front rail felts are being installed; the pedal lyre (which was falling apart) has been disassembled, glue joints cleaned, reglued, and clamped up for another 50 years of use.

Work continues on our current build for a very special Brooklyn recording studio: a 1972 NY Steinway Model D concert gra...
07/23/2025

Work continues on our current build for a very special Brooklyn recording studio: a 1972 NY Steinway Model D concert grand piano.

We've just installed new backcheck leathers; new keyframe backrail felt (red) and cloth (green); new damper felts along with a new and modified backaction/damper tray/pitman rod, and other trapwork modifications.

Next up are the finishing touches on key releading, key bushings, and new cloth and felt punchings. Then on to new hammers.

Fabricating a new custom backaction (damper system) for our 1972 Steinway Model D concert grand project. We're replacing...
06/28/2025

Fabricating a new custom backaction (damper system) for our 1972 Steinway Model D concert grand project. We're replacing all the original teflon components with new parts and modified geometry.

Restringing now complete on our client build of a 1972 NY Steinway Model D concert grand. On to replacing the entire bac...
06/26/2025

Restringing now complete on our client build of a 1972 NY Steinway Model D concert grand. On to replacing the entire backaction (damper system) next...

Address

68 34th Street, Building 6, 5th Floor, Suite B518
Brooklyn, NY
11232

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+17186373793

Website

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