New musical toy

[Tom Baugues]

This past weekend I picked up this Faventia barrel piano. Built in Barcelona Spain. Probably about 60-70 years old. Needs some repair work. Looking forward to figuring out how it works and how to best go about restoring it.
The barrel is missing a “tooth” and it is WAY out of tune. Outer cabinet seems to be in fairly good condition. The grain in the wood really pops. Looks like just pine wood but very straight grain.
Came with a very nice cart.

 

[Paul Douglass]

That is really neat, and the cart is awesome. Is there a way to replace the tooth? The wood with that straight grain,,, Douglas Fir maybe?

 

[Rennie Heuer]

Very cool and really good looking and, apparently, in very good condition (other than the required dental work).

 

[Brent Dowell]

Wow, That's awesome. Are you able to make/get different barrels for it to play different tunes?

 

[Tom Baugues]

That is really neat, and the cart is awesome. Is there a way to replace the tooth? The wood with that straight grain,,, Douglas Fir maybe?

I know the barrel can be removed ( haven’t done it yet though). I’m thinking that I can simply carve a new tooth and fit it in place. Hoping that the old tooth might even be laying down in the bottom somewhere.


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[Ryan Mooney]

Wow that's super cool! Definitely looking forward to seeing what you have to do to get something like this working again.

 

[Tom Baugues]

Wow, That's awesome. Are you able to make/get different barrels for it to play different tunes?

Yes, I’ve been told they are “out there”. So I just need to learn what to look for.
Each barrel contains 6 tunes. A selector handle on the side pushes the barrel over slightly so that a different set of pins connect with the hammers.

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[Vaughn McMillan]

That's just too cool, Tom! I'd not heard of a barrel piano before, but it definitely looks like a fun rehab project.

 

[Darren Wright]

That is too cool! Hope you do find the tooth in the bottom, hopefully will be an easy fix either way. Looks like a new barrel would be a good project for someone with a cnc with a 4th axis.

 

[Brent Dowell]

So cool Tom. Wow 6 tunes! That is awesome.

 

[Jim DeLaney]

Really neat! Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

 

[Don Baer]

So cool Tom. Wow 6 tunes! That is awesome.

I agree that is cool but can it play Inagodadavida?

 

[Paul Douglass]

I am so jealous, Tom. Please keep us "attuned" of your progress and findings.

 

[Ted Calver]

Very cool! Looking forward to seeing your renovation progress.

 

[Tom Baugues]

I would crank it now for you all to hear but you would be tearing your ears off. Yes, it’s that bad. I’ll record one but probably won’t post it until I can get a before and after video to post together. It’s pretty embarrassingly bad right now. [emoji15]


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[David Johnson]

What a neat project. Looking forward to hear the new instrument. Maybe a before and after tuning.
David

 

[Jonathan Shively]

Are the teeth wooden? If metal and I can help, I will.

 

[Tom Baugues]

Are the teeth wooden? If metal and I can help, I will.

Teeth are all wooden. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to cut a whole new gear. I’ve learned that the gear is just screwed to the end of the barrel so I should be able to remove it and use it as a pattern to make a new one.
Thanks for the offer though.


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[Jonathan Shively]

No problem, look forward to hearing it at its best.

 

[Tom Baugues]

I decided to remove the barrel from the piano last night to look at the “broken tooth”. What I discovered is not what I was expecting. The wooden gear had actually “split” and the opening was actually a wide gap not a missing tooth. So, I’m hoping I can still use it as a pattern to cut a new gear.
It’s probably still going to be another 6-8 weeks before I get to work in my shop due to the cold weather but this at least gives me a heads up on what I’ll need to do.

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