Day 52 – Sunday, September 12: Moving forward again

Goals: Finish cleaning up the three lid panels; repair any veneer damage; start staining if time allows.

Music: Eldar’s “Eldar”; Bill Evans’ “Conversations with Myself” and “Portrait in Jazz”

I got my contact cement back out and began fitting the little chunks of veneer back in the holes they came out of. Some fit better than others. Some I had to fabricate from scratch. Some stuck to my fingers and got crushed or broken and had to also be fabricated. Some holes were too small to mess with putting in pieces of veneer, so they had to be filled in with wood filler. It was tedious, time consuming work.

While waiting for the glue to set and the wood filler to dry, I took my small, sharp scraper and removed most of the last of the old finish. Some of it was more stubborn than others, and the bits around the edge were pretty solid and even more stubborn, so I got out the Dremel and used it to clean up the last of the old finish. When I had nothing but bare wood, I sanded down the wood-filled and glued veneer. That left me about an hour before lunch, and with a good breeze blowing, I stained all of the sides that did not have any repairs on them.

It was a solid, productive weekend. This week, I’ll be using the evenings to work on the internal parts to get them ready, and next weekend I hope to tackle the mother-of-pearl inlay, plus continue staining. I hope it rains next weekend. I need an artsy-craftsy sort of atmosphere to have the right mood to work on the delicate stuff.

We’re getting close now. It will still be at least another month, but we are getting close. I mark my progress on the piano by the stuff I put away. This past weekend, I put away the sander, the varnish, the wood glue, and the wood filler. Although I can’t imagine what I will be completing next that will eliminate the need for any tools or materials, I hope there is at least one thing I can set aside next weekend.