Finished Stems Grandiola
Hi All, Sharing a few pics of my favourite player. Three solid months of work in this one (and a bit of expense)> But well worth it I think. I have departed from the almost traditional walnut and even tho the case is mahogany, I have refinished in rosewood, it compliments the mahogany, but not as dark. Comments and criticism welcome! This is the best ivory keyboard I have ever come across, at 100 yrs old, it has no chips, cracks or warping. A little yellowing, but extraordinary condition. Just a little internal fine tuning left. Btw, the piano stool pictured is a Charles Parker from c: 1900 beautiful timber, required minimal repair. Thanks, Paul

Looks just fantastic Paul! , i doubt there would be any chance of any critisizm , its a top notch job and it shows :D

Brilliant piece of work and beautiful refinishing job!! Well done!! regards Adam :)

Really Beautiful Paul Where are the controls - does the whole keyslip fold down? Cheers Neil

I'm slightly puzzled why anybody would think Walnut finish "almost traditional" for a Mahogany case! "Quite impossible" would be a closer description, as Walnut has quite a different colour with a greenish-gold edge to it. It brings to mind a story. A friend has a Steinway-Welte upright and on close inspection there's something odd about the case - which turns out to have a walnut top panel on a mahogany case, by repute a Steinway fix for war damage. Even though very carefully tinted to match, time has exposed the deceit, because the greenish under-tone is apparent. I suspect making Mahogany look like Walnut would be just as hard. Anyhow, the Stems looks a nice reddish finish that suits modern tastes better than the exceedingly dark 1920s fashion. Presumably it's one of those lovely beefy German uprights that are so much fun to play! Julian

Thanks, Dan, Adam, Neil & Julian, The case (even tho made from mahogany veneer) was stained walnut. I doubt that this was original, but almost every player in Australia seems to be walnut colour, regardless of the veneer. It is possible that this effect is due to the ageing of the original tints, but I really think it was the taste for dark furniture, of the day. It is a German upright with an Autopiano player. The keyslip does drop down, I have a pic here Neil: Thanks again for your interest, and I love the Steinway story!! Paul

Just love how the brass plates work so well with the wood colour , looks better then my Webers control finnish thats for sure :)