Piano - upcycling - or was it sheer butchery????

Hmmmmm

        Wed 30 April 2025

I always wanted to do this - buy a piano - remove the crappy strings etc - and make it into a decent wine-bar - that could be a show stopper in someones lounge - or even better - in that MAN-cave!!!!

I keep seeing good samples of them and Ebay/Etsy do list them from $1500 up to $5000 - THUS

Step one

Buy a piano - a worthy candidate!! 

Well - almost easier said then done - Naturally one wants them as cheap as possible in order to max out any possible profit!

Hmmm - Trademe to the rescue!! All of $0.50 - that's right 50 cents!!!  I had - well - I KNOW of a Oak clad upright piano in a place that would be free (and REALLY needs a work-over - birds-nests and all) - BUT its a 1.5 hour drive to it - AND there needs to be a trailer . . . . plus a extra helper to lift and secure then back again . . .  Most other Pianos for sale are still in brilliant condition and going for - well -  more then I can afford! I re-checked Trademe - and out of the 30 going for $1 or less - 3 were in the South Island - the rest all across the Cool straight in the North island! - Hmmm do I live in the wrong place?????

So I bought one of Trademe!! Wohooo - Go me! Mamabear naturally thinks I am nuts! Ok slightly nuts I admit! She thought it would not fit into the already crowded Garage / workshop!! No car ever made its way into that!!! She I S space-ially  challenged, and I did make some room for it!! So I duly hired a trailer - all of $40 for the afternoon - in TEEMING rain!! My bad luck that the arrangements made some 15 days prior for that day - turned out to be a damn wet weather pick-up day!! I also asked a good friend to come and help with the lifting/shifting etc! That no doubt will be a bottle of red later in lieu of payment!!

Ah well

Sighs

NOW - some design questions need to be made first up!! Where goes the rack? The bottle storage?? Marble or timber servery place-mat??  Hmmmm let me sleep on that!!

        Wed 7 May 2025 

I am no dummy!! Wait - no comment required from the sidelines!!! 

I did Google the "disassembling" of a piano - etc - and - it seems straight forward! Most of it sits on dowel / pins etc!! So easy peasy to get to the hammers etc!! Almost no un-screwing required! The designers figured that an easy access to "re-tune" or "repair bits" would  be needed from time to time - so that made it easy to rip apart the piano's!

 

Yikes the layers of dust!!! Sneezes . . . .

Well - ok - so far so good!! First design decision - is to leave the strings in place - As the metal sounding board does have TWO nice crests / names of the original Piano maker!! This particular model - so the research seem to suggest has been in the Factory fire - either, well see ---->  

1913 In the Birmingham Gazette dated 27th August 1913 -- there is an article about a fire at the Sames’ piano factory. The company states that their factory comprises three separate blocks of buildings and that 200 pianos in the first block only are destroyed. The other two blocks were not affected by the fire and they state that production will not be disrupted.

1923 In the Birmingham Gazette dated the 31st August 1923 there is a large advertisement stating that the fire at the factory will not disrupt manufacture of the pianos. At that time there were 350 pianos in stock, they have large quantities of seasoned wood available and that the high standard of the pianos will be maintained.

https://www.pianoandtheory.co.nz/resources-page/2023/8/12/sames-pianos

Yes there are some very dark sooty parts of timber - mostly out of sight!!  Second decision - well - actually the first really - was - to re-use as much of the original timber where ever possible!! There is some Pine / and Oak and - lovely to see - some Rosewood - maybe some Mahogany!! Yussss

As you can see - there are a number of white pieces missing!! I did get SOME spares - but there are a few that were lost forever! So I was thinking of just biffing them - them re-thought this - they might be after all - REAL Ivory! 

Quick look - no such luck! 

I did however find some lovely ideas on how to re-purpose them!!

OK - first step - to match the loose bits to the keys and then one at a time re-glue them to the hammers!! And seeing I have only so many clamps and things - its 4 pieces at a time! 

 

Then once that has been completed - there has to be a REAL wash/clean up! Some of them are no longer white - rather some dirty grey - almost yellow-ish!! Guess they got a good workout over the years!! Then the original timber used has been coated with Dirt/dust - so that needs a light re-sanding/wash to bring back the original grain - ready for a Linseed-oil bath! 

Sighs - MORE sanding - my least favorite part of woodworking!!

Right - Urm - Ok - must remember to keep a time stamp log!!

So far - not counting the rainy day pick up - it's some 6 hours just to get to this stage . . . . . .

Right - while that process is progressing - time for a proverbial red health drink!!

PS - at this stage - I could re-assemble and on-sell the piano - If I wanted too - no permanent damage has been done - yet!!!!  

        Sun 11 May 2025 - Mothers-day

 The day dawned fine - no clouds in the sky and after the obligatory txt's had been sent - and other Mothers being congratulated - it was time to get back to work!

The crime has been committed - I cut some Rimu to rough size and glued them together while using an old cupboard shelf as a flat reference and then flattening it from the top with another bit of straight Rimu! - 3 hours later . . . . 

Once that was done - the Black and White keys got arranged and glued to the newly made backing board! There is no going back now!!  I am committed!! 

I should have said that yesterday I went to a hardware store and bought some hooks and a couple of hinges/hooks for the back board! I need to keep track of my expenses . . . . . 

After a final washing down of dust - one set is drying out in the sun! Cant have them moving with the moisture they may have absorbed during the bath!!

All the Ivory pieces are at random lengths - and on the piano they are covered by some board - so they "appear" to be even - not so once you take the board out! There are up to 10 mm length variances! Hmmmmmm - I was considering routeing a straight edge bit - essentially doing a rabbit run!! Still - I had these ice cream-paddles - that were just the right thickness - so skinny one first then the larger one to cover and make a nice straight edge!  They will need to be trimmed later once the glue has set!!

On that note - the backing timber - which I had deliberately left 5-9 mm wider - needed a trim too - time to get out my new Spiral router trim gadget - it worked a treat - no tear-outs!!!!  Expensive that was - hmm I should get myself a second one - for that - yeah that other job . . . . . . 

I screwed the newly bought hooks in and gave the whole thing a bath in Linseed oil!! The timber is sooooo dry - it soaked it up before I finished with the brush! You literally saw it disappearing into the grains!!! 

So last jobs to be done - trim the paddles and screw into the back the hooks and maybe a second oil bath and then take some real GOOD pictures and send this of to Trademe for sale!!! 

Hmmmm How much do I ask for ? ? ? 

Only 4 more to make - and yes - they will all be unique and individualized!! 

In fact - You could do a cross-cut where the ice cream paddles are and use the bottom for one item and then the top for yet another one - the little hammers do unscrew and come out - making an actual hook for your keys or caps or . . . . . 

Right - may need to go on a Lettering hunt!! Spotlight ought to have something suitable or yet another hardware store visit coming up?!?!?!?! 

        Thur 15 May 2025

    Hmmmm - My problem is that apart from being the resourceful / creative chap - visualizing the art work and all - I also need to be a roving sales-chap!! 3 units on trademe and no nibbles at all!!! Am I making the wrong product??? Do I need to hire a marketing expert? Serious doubt creeping in here . . . . . .

      Sun 25 May 2025

    Wooohooooo - first sale completed! Actually it sold via Market-place on Facebook!  I know - I know - a bit slow there!!  I am on FB   O N L Y   because I admin a rugby page - and seeing that FB changed the rules a little while back and I needed to be a REAL person (like I am some Fata Morgana) urm anyhow I needed to have a real current login email and a minimum of three friends!! Sighs! 

Actually I remember why I hated Facebook - in my "friends you may know" appeared a number of scantily clad - oversized busty woman - that FB thinks I should be friends with - Go figure!! Actually I think they are AI generated and scam people . . . 

Still - I listed for the first time some items and had 945 views - or clicks as they say!! Long may it continue - as I need to sell something else, just to break even!!

Ah well - back to the workshop . . . . . .

    Fri 13 June 2025

Turns out - I sold 2 more - so as off right now - I am actually in credit Dollar-wise with this endeavor!  Two more to make and one of them is on FB already. Pretty soon I can start working on the actual Piano bar conversion . . . .  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue 13 June 2025 

Outch!! Not a lot of progress has been made - as I am battling 2 Kidney-stones!!

Dang - Not wishing this on anyone Friend or foe!!!

 

Sighs 

 

 

 

 aa

 

Have fun! 

 

From Star Wars - and AI

A fitting quote for today, reflecting on pain, fear, and anger, could be: (from Yoda) 

"Fear leads to Anger, Anger leads to Hate, Hate leads to Suffering"

This quote highlights the destructive cycle that can arise when we succumb to fear and then let it fuel anger and ultimately hate, leading to suffering. 

 Here's why this quote is relevant: 

 It acknowledges the emotional journey:

• It recognizes that fear is often a starting point, and anger can be a natural reaction to fear.
• It emphasizes the destructive nature of unchecked emotions:

  It warns against letting anger escalate into hate, which can cause significant harm to ourselves and others.
• It offers a call to action:

  It encourages us to find healthy ways to address our fears and manage our anger before they lead to suffering.

This quote encourages self-reflection and a conscious choice to break the cycle of negative emotions by addressing fear and anger constructively.

 

 

 

Sadly - I see a lot of Anger and Hate in today's world . . . .

Have fun!