3D Printed Piano Parts

 

We've been working with Olivier Nteziryayo at Fablab Rwanda to try to 3D print piano action parts. Olivier has very kindly given his time and effort to exploring locally-sourced piano part alternatives, which are essential for building pianos here in the future. The last set of parts we ordered from America took four months to arrive by post and cost more to ship than the parts were worth. That's why it's so important for us to get creative.

He printed this damper lever from PLA plastic, but it is not strong enough for purpose. An interesting experiment, though. With 3D printing you get the accuracy, but not the strength. With handmade carpentry, you get the strength, but not always the accuracy. It also takes around 30 minutes to print a single part.

We're pausing for a moment as Fablab is moving location, but once the machines are back up and running we're going to continue. We also have a design change we'd like to try in order to see if we can replace centrepins.  These regularly fall out of old pianos and they're difficult to source because you can only buy them in bulk and there are many sizes. If you buy the wrong size, it's another four months before the next fit arrives. The post is really our nemesis, especially with the lack of people travelling internationally at the moment. 

We'll keep you updated.

PiliPili Part II

  

You may remember, some years back, we were invited to look at a piano at a bar in town. It would have cost around £1,000 to make it playable, including import on pieces and labour. The owner decided against it, which is a shame, because it's a 120-year-old Parisian Sébastien Érard. 

Recently, we were back in touch with the owner, as we're experimenting with local alternatives to imported parts, spurred on by our flip-flop hammer venture. In order to test some of our theories, we need a broken action to play with. He's allowed us to take the action from the Érard. If our experiments work, he might just get a working piano out of it. If not, the piano will be pretty much the same as it was before. 

There was just one problem... between now and the last time we saw it, half the humidity of Rwanda seeped into the woodwork and jammed the fallboard. Marion downed a couple of G&Ts and attempted to free it on a night out with friends. That didn't exactly work. So, Desire and Pauline came with her the next time and spent half an hour coaxing it out.

 

  

The humidity has eaten into the strings as well. Lot of rust, but it might just survive long enough to play a few songs. We're a long way off tuning, though. At least it's still got a full set.

 

 

 

 

There's also some interesting details with the soundboard, which doesn't cover the whole of the back of the piano, only the parts behind the strings. This appears to be by design.

 

  

 

Also got most of the original ivories, and the owner has a few salvaged in a bag. We'll replace if we get to that point. You can tell ivory, because the keytops come in two pieces. You can see a fine line along the bottom of the black keys, whereas plastic keytops are usually much brighter in colour and all one piece. You don't tend to see ivory after the Second World War, and it's illegal to trade ivory today, so modern pianos use plastic. 

 

 It's also got a beautiful set of candle sconces. 

 

 

So, we now have the action, which is itself rather a strange beast. It's entirely wood mounted and perhaps a little heavier than a standard action.

 

 

 

 

More to follow on this as we start working. Considering how old it is, the action appears to be in remarkably good working order. The main plan is to try out leather-wrapped wooden hammers to substitute for felt. The flip-flop hammers worked really well but they are also a little expensive and still need to be brought in from Kenya. If we could find a completely local solution, that would make piano repair a lot cheaper.

Andy Mwag and the Effect of COVID on Musicians

  

Hi everyone. This is the latest video by our lovely friend Andy Mwag. You might remember, he helped put a string on our piano some years back. 

 

He's a really talented musician, and used to play each week here in Kigali. Seriously, the best live music in the city, often with guest appearances from amazing DRC and Burundian musicians. Marion and her friend Harris had some brilliant nights out with the Viva Beats crew. 

 

Sadly, when COVID hit, it completely wiped out the live music scene in Kigali. As a gigging musician, Andy couldn't make enough to support his wife and two young kids, so they had to move back to their home country of Burundi, which required special permission from their embassy as all the borders were closed. It was a really sad day to see them go, and our friend Emmy drove them to the checkpoint.

 

At the Border between Rwanda and Burundi

 

He's still continuing to make music in Burundi, but life is not much easier. For as long as restrictions and social distancing remain in place, many musicians are struggling to make a living.

If you'd like to help support him, you can buy his music online.