So I'm sitting at the in-laws the other night in the living room. In one corner there's an old upright piano that apparently SWMBO and the BiL pounded around on when they were kids. The thing is at least a century old. Now it mostly does duty as a multi-level table on which the MIL displays pictures of the grandkids and family.
Did I mention it's made of quartersawn white oak? *Thick* QSWO. It's byootiful. The finish is all orange-peeled and crackly, too.
Then the MIL made some comment about how she should probably get rid of the thing, since no one's played it in ages. And all I could think was, "Yeah, give it to me, Mom...*I"ll* take care of that sumbitch..."
Sorry, but disassembling a functional musical instrument is a criminal offense. I'd be far better to give it to some kid who wants to play the pie-anner but can't afford one. (Those things are EXPENSIVE!)
Unless it's not playable, then it's a whole nother can o' fish. Or kettle o' worms. Or something.
If the piano case is extremely ornate, you might want to have an expert look at it. There is a very slight chance that it is worth something, especially if it is made in Europe (Germany) or is a Steinway or something similar.
Otherwise it is probably not worth repairing. I have an old, locally made piano, a Bell, which is good, but not worth anything. A local expert told me that it was worth about $300CDN and would cost more to restore than a new piano. (The expert is a large restorer of piano's)
So, QSWO might be $8bdft, and there might be 40bdft -50bdft in a piano case, so I figure it is lumber value only. (Hmmm, that's a good thought of what to do with my old piano!) The soundboards are clear spruce usually and flat, so that might be an extra few bdft too.
Look very, very carefully at that thick QSWO, most pianos I've seen don't have solid wood, even the good ones are made of laminated pieces and veneered.
"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in news:NtdLd.11664$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr31.news.prodigy.com:
Yeah, at my church they recently "redid" the sanctuary. The few pieces of old stuff that remained (table for the centerpiece and a big bible stand) were this absolutely gorgeous QS white oak. The new stuff (the new layman's pulpit) was ugly plywood with brown stain on it, roughly the color of fumed white oak, and some appliques glued on. I guess it looked okay from a distance but if you were into wood it was really a big step down.
I oughta build them a new one. So many projects, so little time.
First, I must say that I agree with Silvan sentiment regarding the demolishing of a functional instrument. I did a lot of restoration work on pianos and reed organs back in the 70s and 80s.
If you are going to take the piano apart, please be warned that there is a tremendous amount of pressure in the harp. Do not cut the strings. If you cut them unevenly, there is a chance that the iron frame will stress out and the results could be very unpredictable. To safely remove the strings, ease the tuning pins out, one string at a time, moving from one note to the next, starting in the center and working evenly towards the ends. Work the strings down to one for each note before making the final pass. On the final pass, I would start in the middle and work out alternating notes.
If you decide not to destroy the piece, you will find that the original finish is some form of shellac. Do a test wipe with denatured alcohol. If the finish softens and re-amalgamates, it is "normal" soft shellac, the kind we are used to. If it does not, It is what was termed hard shellac. In either case, do not try to use heat to remove it.
The other problem that you will run into is hide glue. Many parts of a musical instrument were designed to be removed for ease of repair, but many of the case elements were glued with hot hide glue. Plain white vinegar can be used to break these joints, but it is a very slow process. If the larger pieces are veneered, the vinegar will break the bond of veneer as well.
well, Jason.. take some advise from an ol' fart... that's what we do best, give advise.. *g*
Aside from the "thou shalt not destroy pianos" thing, and the bad karma of doing so, the real issue here is that your bride used to pound on the thing... and no matter what you make out of it, it will always be the body of the childhood friend that you killed...
Marriage can be smooth and enjoyable.. just practice saying "yes, dear" on your way out to the shop...
Not to mention the unlikelihood that the QSWO is more than veneer deep.
I destroyed a piano once, and they're a bitch. Opporknockity, the tuner, said that the sound board was shot and the harp (cast iron) was cracked, so there was no way an honest man could even put it up free for the taking. Eldest son and I spent the better part of a weekend getting it down into small enough pieces to burn. The insides were a hoot - poplar slathered with glue and glued to pieces of oak, some soft maple, and a white ash chunk that I turned into candlesticks. Just like the upholstered furniture, the framing was of the lowest sort of wood, except for the quartersawn - and cracked - spruce soundboard, which was a pleasure to behold.
Two of the three kids learned on that old beast, but it was really intruding into useable space. I still have some of the pins, if anyone's building a hammered dulcimer.
I'm building a hammered dulcimer. Or seriously investigating building a hammered dulcimer anyway. I haven't broken ground on it yet, but I think I can pull it off.
There was someone here a few years ago who restored a q-s oak piano, now, who was that? Maybe a google search would come up with the thread. It was gorgeous.
My email address works. I'll take'em off your hands if you have no use for them. Having the pins laying around staring at me might be a good inducement to get me over the hump and actually cut some wood instead of just thinking about it. I realllllllllly want a hammered dulcimer, but it's a slightly intimidating project still. I've about half convinced myself to wuss out and buy a kit once.
But if I successfully build a kit, I see a long future as a dulcimer builder in my, um, future. I love those things like few other instruments. I got to play one once, and it was like touching $DEITY.
Take some solace from the fact that the guy suggesting the thing is veneered is probably right. People have been using veneer for a long, long time, and I've found that anything made in the 20th century probably isn't solid wood unless the previous owners were robber barons or oil tycoons or something.
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