88

...times who knows what.

Several years ago I was given a piano. It is a full upright with beautiful mahogany veneer. The finish is messed up, likely due to being stored in basements. I did some research back then and found that it was built in 1910. My plan was to renovate it as well as I could. Well, that was put on hold due to lots of reasons, but my idea was always to have it COMPLETE in 2010 and to rechristen it for a 100 year piano party.

It’s now time to get busy again if I want to meet that goal. A lot of the work on the keys and hammers can be done in the basement next to the fireplace. I already had 87 of the hammers working and only 2 of the keys need repair. BUT there is a lot of cosmetic work…cleaning, replacing keytops, and replacing felt everywhere. If I can get all that done over the winter, then I can do the cabinet work (stripping, refinishing, fixing broken veneer) in the spring and summer. Would be nice if I got it all done and tuned for a summer or fall party, don’t you think?

So, last night I set up a worktable in the basement and brought in the keys and hammers. They have gotten really dusty from sitting around and I think some mice chewed up some of the felt. I have to fix 2 broken keys, and a variety of simpler cosmetic wood repairs, and install new white plastic on the white keys (and only clean the blacks).

In case you don’t know about a piano, it basically consists of 88 copies of 1 working mechanism. That mechanism transfers a key press to a hammer stroke against a wire. There are MANY MANY pieces in just 1 mechanism. That is why I put “88 times who knows what”. You never know what might need fixing or adjusting.

Will take and post pics as I go. Of particular interest should be the wood repairs.
Stay "tuned".