I recently got a free piano – thanks Susanne. Although the piano is in a working condition there are a few things that need maintenance (such as tuning and fixing small things in the mechanism and case). I will also restore several of the wooden parts and started with the bench.

This was a reasonably quick and fun project. Working with furniture leather is really quite easy. The music was engraved on the leather using a very low power setting on the laser. The piece is the first page of Clair de Lune by Debussy.

Engraved Leather

I am of course also now trying to learn how to play the piano. This is not as easy as restoring the bench (or fixing the mechanism or actually making anything). I cannot just watch a few YouTube videos and then reproduce what I see without hours and hours and hours of practice. This is a completely different project from the normal things I do. But I think it is good to try something completely different sometimes. I will practice for one year (try to do at least 30 minutes per day). If I am happy with the progress I will continue, if not (as I might not be musically inclined enough), I will have a very nice looking bookshelf – which I will probably pass on to someone that can use it better.

R