This blog documents the restoration of my 1859 Erard grand piano. A note to Erard restorers: I am seeking to correspond with other Erard restorers and owners to share information on these instruments. Please contact me if you wish to start an online discussion group.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Lyre Restoration
As you can see, these pictures show some stages of the restoration of the Lyre. Some interesting points: in the first picture, note the 3 brass bars. The one one the left I polished as a test. The two brass bars on the right were painted with a very poor brass paint. Why someone would paint brass with a poor imitation brass paint is lost on me. Perhaps they were so blackened with tarnish that they looked like steel--as I thought they were at first. In the 2nd and 3rd photos, you can see that I had to replace some decorative wood pieces that were lost to time. I did these with hand tools--a miter box, jigsaw, and hand drill. Man, do I need some better shop tools. Anyway, I am pleased with the results, all the brass is completely restored and polished, and lacquered, so it will not tarnish. Look at that brass shine, baby!
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