Thanks for the quick replies! I was thinking it was an unusual veneer choice, and it's nice to know that it's as odd as I thought it was. The grain is indeed dramatic, although up close its not nearly as "refined" a look as say a nice dense walnut. I am also glad to hear the fading dye explanation, as I have never heard of that and it would explain this effect exactly. Now, I just need to convince the guy to go ahead and take the piano (It's a "free if you move" deal) and get it restored. Brass flanges (eek!) but none are broken so far... Could end up a good musical value, or could be a money pit. I'm not sure how risk adverse this prospective client is. -Kurt Baxter On Thu, Aug 26, 2010 at 3:38 PM, Delwin D Fandrich <del at fandrichpiano.com>wrote: > Rotary sliced ash. > > > > ddf > > > > Delwin D Fandrich > > Piano Design & Fabrication > > 620 South Tower Avenue > > Centralia, Washington 98531 USA > > del at fandrichpiano.com > > ddfandrich at gmail.com > Phone 360.736.7563 > > > > *From:* pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] *On > Behalf Of *Sheila Holcomb > *Sent:* Thursday, August 26, 2010 8:58 AM > *To:* Pianotech List > *Subject:* [pianotech] What kind of wood is this? > > > > > > (photos here: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/23869082@N03/sets/72157624687893411/ ) > > > > Sporer, Carlson & Berry Upright, No. 1571 > > No year listed in the atlas, but the company made pianos from 1860-1915 > > > > My first guess from the color and rough grain texture would be oak, but I > have never seen this sort of dramatic curl pattern in oak. > > > > Anyone else seen this look before? > > Also, any guesses on age? > > > > The other weird thing is that at first I thought it had been refinished, > due to the light color compared to the color under the lid, but then I > notice the the crazing in the finish is still there. Is there any way > someone lightened the finish without removing the crazing? > > > > Oh, and this was a fire salvage piano and then stored, so it would have > been exposed to heat and then covered in a layer of soot for about 10 years. > You can see silhouettes of knickknacks and photo frames on the lid where the > heat discolored the finish. > > > > > > > > > > [k] > > > > > > > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100826/d6642f54/attachment.htm>
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