Chase square grand restoration? (fwd)

[Ron Nossaman]

Hi Julie,

Years ago I saw a square with the sides cut down to about half height and
the lid screwed on. It was one of the prettiest, albeit massive, tables I've
ever seen. 8{)}  I'd not recommend spending the money for restoration,
except in a sentimental context. It never was, and, sadly, never will be a
decent instrument. If you have the floor space to spare, keep it and don't
spend a dime. Load the top with family treasures and admire it's beauty
occasionally in passing. This kind of Rosewood is extinct now as far as the
export market is concerned (maybe for real) and you can't get it anymore.   

Incidentally (sorry about this) the legs are probably painted poplar.
Rosewood was too valuable, even then, (not to mention brittle) to use in
these massive legs. The wonderful skills required to realistically fake the
effect were both cheaper and more readily available so... The case veneer,
however, is probably the real stuff. For what it's worth.

Ron Nossaman



At 01:52 PM 9/30/97 -0400, you wrote:
>I did not see this posted to the list when I sent it a month ago.  Perhaps
>its content was out of scope or perhaps there was an equipment failure
>somewhere along the line.  I would appreciate the response of list members
>especially if there is any good news to tell! 
>
>Reply to me personally if you think it is outside the scope of general
>interest of the group. 
>
>Thanks. 
>
>Julie Arnheim
>
>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 13:06:41 -0400 (EDT)
>From: Juliette Arnheim <jarnheim@phoenix.princeton.edu>
>To: pianotech@ptg.org
>Subject: Chase square grand restoration?
>
>
>Listserve members,
>
>Greetings from a newbie who is neither a piano technician nor even a decent 
>player of the instrument!  
>
>Forgive me if I ask for replies on a subject where I think I already know 
>the "sad-but-true" response....
>
>I have a Chase square grand piano that has been in my family since
>Victorian days when it was "what there was" to the music room set.  I
>checked out it's genealogy, so I know when it was made and where.  I know
>that it was never a "classy" piano in its day (as compared to the
>Chickering in my grandmother's home).  It has been treated well, i.e.
>housed rather than left in an unheated/uncooled space.  It has a rosewood
>case, although it is lacquered and the lacquer is crazed in places, and
>its original ivories.  I played it all through my childhood up through
>high school (so I KNOW what it sounds like in good repair) but it has
>suffered from neglect over the past quarter century.  When I moved to a
>place of my own, I bought a nice 1906 Hallett & Davis upright which sounds
>a lot better!  Now I need to decide whether 1) to continue to house the
>square grand and treat it as a LARGE "dysfunctional" piece of furniture,
>2) to fix it so it is at least in playable condition, if I can find someone
>either in the Knoxville TN or in Charleston SC area or 3) to give up on
>it.  [If I were seriously considering opting for #3, I probably would have
>done it by now, although making the choice between #1 and #3 is clearly up
>to us (me and my husband), if #2 is not an viable option.]
>
>I'm sure that you have had requests of this type from "newbies" on your
>list from time to time.  I searched the archives of this listserv and
>didn't see much to recommend this style piano!  I have checked book
>sources off and on over the years, and to date I have not seen any talk of
>restoration of a square grand turning it into a satisfactory musical
>instrument!  Even 35 years ago, it was not easy to find someone with the
>proper set of tools to work on this type of piano, although that may have
>been a polite way for a piano technician, such as yourselves, to decline
>to spend time and effort on an instrument with a poor prognosis. 
>
>I have seen photographs of square grands which have been refinished; the 
>ones depicted are made of beautiful wood.  I say mine is rosewood; the 
>legs definitely are.  Would the rest of the case be rosewood as well, or 
>did manufacturers mix woods when they planned to lacquer the finished 
>product anyway?
>
>If you have any success stories on restoration of square grands,
>especially as instruments, I'd surely like to hear them!   
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>Julie Arnheim
>Chemistry Librarian
>Princeton University 
>
>
>
>
 Ron Nossaman