H.Capel & Co., London

[kategordon]

my mom had this piano forever - I'm wondering how old this is and what type of woods. I've not cleaned it - worried about what to do. Mostly years and years of dust.

[Colin Nicholson]

I've seen alot worse than this.... so dont worry!

Before I explain a cleaning process, the piano is about 100 years old, and the wood could be walnut or oak.... but what you see is not solid wood, only a veneer, and in various places brush strokes (painted black) have been added to give it that "grained burred walnut" effect - a cheap and easy way to make a piano look expensive. It is also likely the original French Polish has lost its shine/ dried up and various small cracks appearing (crazed look) on the wood - this is the French polish.... so please dont expect a shiny new piano after treatment - more like a satin polished look.

Firstly, just wipe all the dust off with a dry duster - any stubborn marks use a damp cloth (just water), then dry it.

You now need to clean the wood and remove any impurities.

Buy some RAW linseed oil from your local DIY shop. If you cant get raw, then 'boiled' will do. In a clean glass jar (with a lid) - about a jam jar size, mix it with some vinegar 50:50 (about 1/4 of a jar in total).... put the lid on, and shake it vigorously ---- the mixture will turn yellow (looks like mustard). Quickly (while it hasnt separated) dab some on a clean cotton cloth (or cotton wool), and rub it over the wood several times. Keep shaking the jar before you apply it to the cloth (with the lid on!).

Buy some beeswax (comes in a tin), and polish the wood - follow the instructions on the tin.

The results wont be brilliant because of the condition of the French polish - but should make a difference. Dont forget that the piano comes to bits - the front board, bottom board and fallboard (lid that covers the keys) all come off to make it easier for cleaning.

Remember that this process will not renovate or return the french polish back to its original sheen - especially if the polish is dull looking or dried up - but usually the fallboard is 'conveniently' polished the most during household chores, so this may stand out against the rest. Renovating French polish is a specialised job, so just accept that the piano will look slightly better and more presentable.

Hope that helps

Colin

[Bill Kibby]

As Colin says, it's probably about a hundred years old or so, maybe 1909-ish. Have a look at...

http://www.piano-tuners.org/piano-forum ... f=2&t=8859

Capel doesn't appear in my many lists of London piano makers, and may have been a retailer putting his name onto it, so I would be interested to know if any further clues are hidden inside.

Years ago, a french polisher told me to use Three-In-One oil to revive and clean french polish, and I find it a very simple and effective way to make the best of old polish like this, without getting into the problems of stripping and re-finishing. Once you strip the polish off, you'd find that these pianos are made of all sorts of odd wood grains, faked and stained to make them look like a match, and it is difficult to get an even finish using just varnish.

[kategordon]

Wow - what a wealth of information! THank you so much for the details of how to clean. Great to know that it's probably a composite of veneers and an applied finish. I won't worry that it's something to fret too much over, but at least I can get it looking nice again!

Where would one look for more 'clues' as to the actual maker? Obviously I'm a piano neophyte. :-)

[Colin Nicholson]

I suspect that the name 'H. Capel' is applied onto that black label on the inside lip of the fallboard? .... in most cases, this will be the retailers or shop name.... not the manufacturers name.

To find further clues if any other name exists - they may be applied as a decal inside the piano.... but you must first remove the front panel.

1. Remove ornaments and open top lid.
2. Close fallboard (lid that covers keys)
3. Remove candles and brass fittings from sockets (sconces). They should just lift off, if they are difficult to remove - leave them on.

4. Inside the top lid, at each end, will be 2 wooden blocks (turnbuckles).... turn them about quarter of a turn towards the middle of the piano - so the left block turn clockwise, the right block turn anti-clockwise.

5. Gently pull the front panel towards you, then lift it off completely.

You will now see the mechanism inside, with lots of wires.

Look at the top of the piano - where the tuning pins are - and look along its entire length for any names.

If you see anything - send us a photo......

here is a guide.....

Tuning area.jpg (42.28 KiB) Viewed 8068 times

the red arrows show the general area where you need to look - also look on the inside walls. (The piano above is under-damped, but the arrangement of the tuning pins will be similar).

To find any clues.... you must look inside properly - or even by looking in over the top! ....

Finally - there may be clues inside the bottom of the piano - so again, look for the longer turnbuckles, turn them to one side (under the keyboard), and lift the bottom panel away...... lots of cobwebs??

[Colin Nicholson]

Your mechanism inside will probably look similar to this one....

overdamped thingy.jpg (10.29 KiB) Viewed 8068 times

If you cant see anything (dont bother with numbers or letters - just a name) - then there may be further clues behind the mechanism, but I would recommend that you contact a piano tuner to remove it, because if anything dislodges itself (eg a damper wire) or if tapes are broken (assuming its not a spring & loop), then you may break internal parts as the mechanism is reinstalled - so I would not remove it yourself.

[kategordon]

THank you for the how-to on looking for a name inside. I'll dust it off and see what I can find. If anything, I will post another photo. Thank you again!