How do you fix a stuck screw?

Penetrating oil is the usual starting point. Squirt it down the spindle collar and leave it for a few days to soften the hardened grease. Gentle heat can sometimes shift stubborn metal threads. If the mechanism relies on a wooden screw, oil will swell the timber and make the problem worse. Use dry graphite powder instead.

I recently bought a heavy box seat with side handles but the lid hinge feels very loose when you open it up. Is this normal?

Box hinges take a lot of strain. The lid is heavy and acts as a lever against the small brass screws holding the hinges in place. Over decades of opening and dropping shut, the screws chew through the soft pine of the carcase. Plugging the original screw holes with hardwood dowels and redrilling them is the standard fix. It gives the original hinges solid timber to bite into again.

Can they hold a modern adult?

Yes, mostly. A well-jointed Victorian stool is robust enough for daily use. Check the leg joints for wobble before putting full weight on a tripod base.

When you wind the seat up to its highest point it gets unstable and rocks back and forth. How far should it go safely?

Never wind the thread out past the point where the spindle wobbles. You need enough metal left inside the column to keep the seat anchored against lateral movement. Most makers designed them with about five inches of safe travel. If a player needs the seat higher than the stable limit, the stool is just too short for that specific keyboard.

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Antique Piano Stools in East of England

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A small, freestanding seat, usually with a mechanism to raise or lower the padded top, designed specifically to put a player at the correct height for a keyboard.