John spencer and co piano

[Williamthecarpenter]

Hello everyone,
I recently have been convinced to source a second hand piano for my budding enthusiastic daughter to play , I found this lovely old thing some 30 minutes from our house here in Brittany, it was only 20 euros so I wasn’t expecting it to be of great value but it’s quite a beautiful thing ,
walnut veneer I think , after watching a short YouTube video Iv removed the front panel above the keys and it looks like it’s in pretty bad condition there’s sign of a few tiny wood worm holes on one of the keys , the first key doesn’t play at all and looks like the wire at the back is totally missing , the fabric on the back is also missing ,..
The questions I have are would it be possible for me to repair it myself I’m very good at fixing things and source the parts from a piano parts supplier directly and then have it tuned ?
I would love to know it’s age aswell if possible the number is 17374
Many thanks 😊

[Williamthecarpenter]

Here’s a few photos of the very poorly piano 😁

[Bill Kibby]

The number suggests that it was made in 1891. My problem is that when you ask someone who has studied full-time, qualified, and been in business for years, I can't imagine where you would start to do the job yourself. People often try, but you can't just "source the parts" for an 1891 piano. I tried for years collecting parts from scrap pianos, but they rarely turned out to be suitable for other pianos.

[Williamthecarpenter]

The number suggests that it was made in 1891. My problem is that when you ask someone who has studied full-time, qualified, and been in business for years, I can't imagine where you would start to do the job yourself. People often try, but you can't just "source the parts" for an 1891 piano. I tried for years collecting parts from scrap pianos, but they rarely turned out to be suitable for other pianos.

This is a very good point Bill, I assumed that somewhere there would be a supplier of parts but maybe I’m being naive 🤦‍♂️