New Project: Piano Restoration – part 2

The project continues! I’m really enjoying this. It’s very rewarding work. This weekend I began polishing and filling. I visited Bunnings and spoke with Gayle there who was most helpful with picking out the right polish, I’ll try to find the brand for you at some point, but it is a pleasure to use. So far i have two panels completed and the chips in the candle holders have been filled.

With the polishing I began with scraping off the old varnish/shellac or whatever it is they used 100 years ago, then a light sanding, then the polish:

There is the main front panel all polished up. I’m pretty happy with the result.

On a side note, my playing is coming along nicely too! loads of practice still needed though.

 

To Do:

Repair the broken lid

Scrape and polish main body, legs, hood and lid

Tune

Polish brass candle holders and Chappell plaque

I may also get a locksmith in to make me a key for it also.

New Project: Piano Restoration

So I was impulsive the other day and bought myself a 100 year old piano from trademe (ebay for new zealanders) for $1. I drove out to the hutt with the flatmate and his van and wrangled it into his van. If you have ever tried to estimate the weight of a piano, double your estimation. These things are HEAVY. Two aching backs later and it is safe and sound inside our house.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=419804815 is the trademe listing. I’m not sure how long that will remain available though. It is gorgeous, solid oak with ivory keys. Here I am having a play:

 

So far I have cleaned 100 years of dust out of it, opened it right up and marveled at the the craftsmanship and ingenuity  behind pianos, fixed a couple of sticky keys and notes that weren’t reacting properly, and cleaned the keys. I have begun reattaching the candle holders to the ends – see the broken off parts on each end. and I have reattached a few parts which had worn themselves off it.

Here is what it looks like now:

http://i.imgur.com/Dxlj5.jpg

Not a whole lot different, but still, it’s tidier and I’m proud!

Next on the cards is to finish attaching the candle holders – though I have a feeling that they might not work out, they seem pretty fragile! Along with that job is to properly brace the cover board thing down above the pedals. It will also need a tune of course. I also plan to polish up the pedals and the plaque and have them shining like new. The lid also needs some attention, the front lip of it has been broken off and will require a tidy up. I will probably just saw it off square.

I have a wee bit of a dilemma though… Should I strip the wood back and polish it up? Or leave it as is? I can’t decide, I don’t want it to lose any of that antique charm, but the oak is capable of looking so much better!

Curry!

Last night I made my first curry that I believe to have truly been a success. Sounds weird, but I have been trying to do this for a long time now, and last night I got it with a Dhal Makhani. It looked, smelled, and tasted like a bought one. Stoked!

Accompanied with some home made Chaphatti and Chutney it was an awesome feast.

Just thought I’d let you know…

Feast!