A 3 octave Schoenhut piano

 

This 2 ft high piano has 3 octaves worth of keys. Many Schoenhut pianos have only white keys functioning and the black keys are just painted on. But this piano has actual working black keys!

Well, they once worked.....

It likely dates from 1900-1920

Inside we see how this piano gets both it's white and black keys functioning.

It has 2 levels of chimes.

The bottom level is worked by the white keys and the top level is worked by the black keys.

This is a back view.

Of course, this piano only has a few functioning keys now. All the rest are broken or askew.

And so, I start dismantling the poor thing.

First the top layer of chimes is removed in a cloud of dust and 100yo grime.

Most of the keys are loose and have had a previous odd repair with a pin. So the keys get removed too. This reveals ancient dust bunnies!

The hammers are made of cardboard coated with cloth. The cloth forms the hinge.

Many of the cardboard bits are bent and much of the cloth is deteriorating.

So the cardboard and cloth bits will be replaced.

The chimes are supported by twine. The red twine is original and has mostly deteriorated. The beige twine got added at some point during a previous repair.

Both bits of twine will be replaced and the filthy chimes will be cleaned.

The keys are hinged with a piece of cloth that goes from a grooved piece of wood on the body of the piano to a groove on the underside of each key.

Only 2 keys still have their original cloth hinges and they are not in great shape. So all the hinges will be replaced by stiffened duck cloth.

That involves digging out old glue and mangled cloth from every groove.

Vinegar painted on the offending glue blob will soften it and aid in removal. 

Here is one key with it's new duck cloth hinge about to get inserted into it's place. 

Now to do this a few dozen more times...

Here is one of the hammer set-ups getting dismantled.

Ok...maybe I should have taken more pictures.

But here is the refreshed piano.

It even has a matching stool.