The key to George Klassen含羞草研究社檚 pandemic project was to create something new and beautiful from unwanted upright pianos.
The Surrey resident made a music-themed canoe from the wood of instruments that would otherwise be thrown in the garbage.
Three old pianos were recycled to create Middle Sea over the past 15 months, in the garage of Klassen含羞草研究社檚 Fleetwood-area home.
It might be the only canoe of its kind in the world.
含羞草研究社淚 haven含羞草研究社檛 come across anything like this,含羞草研究社� Klassen noted. 含羞草研究社淎s far as I know, this is the only one on the globe made of pianos, but I might be wrong.含羞草研究社�
A longtime piano tuner, he found inspiration in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, in spring 2020.
含羞草研究社淣one of us knew what to do with our time, right?含羞草研究社� Klassen said. 含羞草研究社淚t all felt kind of surreal and it was a bit of a wake-up call for me. I was 64 or 65 years old at the time, and I thought, 含羞草研究社楽omeday I含羞草研究社檓 going to have more time, you know, to do something. So it含羞草研究社檇 be nice to experiment.含羞草研究社櫤卟菅芯可鐫
(Story continues below)
More photos of "Middle Sea," the cleverly named canoe, made of old piano wood by Surrey's George Klassen as a pandemic project.
含羞草研究社� Tom Zillich (@TomZillich)
It sure is a beauty!
STORY:
Browsing around Facebook Marketplace, he clicked on photos of cedar-strip canoes for sale, and was reminded of a fibreglass model he built back in high school, in Killarney, Man.
含羞草研究社淚 know that every day, there are these old, brown upright pianos that are just going to the dump, one after the other 含羞草研究社� you can含羞草研究社檛 even give them away,含羞草研究社� Klassen said.
含羞草研究社淚 thought, 含羞草研究社業 wonder if somebody milled some of these old pianos into strips and turned them into a canoe.含羞草研究社� That含羞草研究社檚 what started the whole process.含羞草研究社�
So he collected some old pianos and began making a canoe, which turned out to be a work of art.
Using a tablesaw and thickness planer, he discovered plenty of solid oak in those old pianos.
含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 really beautiful wood,含羞草研究社� Klassen noted, 含羞草研究社渂ut the unconventional part of it is, of course cedar-strip canoes are made of cedar, a softer and lighter wood. So people ask me how heavy mine is, but it turns out the canoe weighs about 60 pounds, not bad 含羞草研究社� about 10 pounds heavier than a cedar-strip one.含羞草研究社�
Klassen is justifiably proud of his canoe含羞草研究社檚 details.
含羞草研究社淭he edge of the canoe, the outer , is made of soundboard ribs from a piano, finger-jointed together to make a continuous strip on the outside,含羞草研究社� he explained.
含羞草研究社淚n the pictures, you含羞草研究社檒l see slits on the side. The solid parts of that gunwale are actual key sharps, the black keys on the piano. I shaved them down and made them all uniform. There含羞草研究社檚 three key tops. I inlayed those on either end, and those are actual ivory piano keys.
含羞草研究社淭he handle to carry the canoe, on each end, those are the handles that were on the back of the pianos, two of them,含羞草研究社� Klassen added.
含羞草研究社淎nd the yoke in the middle, the piece used to carry the canoe, it含羞草研究社檚 a back post from a piano, shaved down and formed into a yoke.含羞草研究社�
Joan Clark, co-owner of , on King George Boulevard in Surrey, first alerted the Now-Leader about Klassen含羞草研究社檚 canoe project.
含羞草研究社淗e tunes the pianos here,含羞草研究社� Clark explained. 含羞草研究社�(Klassen) hated seeing these old pianos going to the dump, and this is a pretty ingenious use of them. I just think it is incredible what he has done.含羞草研究社�
Clark said old upright pianos have become a huge problem.
含羞草研究社淲e get lots of calls, but we don含羞草研究社檛 take them in and you can含羞草研究社檛 sell them. People are going to smaller acoustic pianos, or digitals,含羞草研究社� Clark explained. 含羞草研究社淎 lot of them are beautiful pianos and functional, but people just don含羞草研究社檛 have room for them in their houses anymore, or their apartments.
含羞草研究社淲e tell people to put them on Craigslist for free, but they end up hiring people or just take them to the dump on their own. You can含羞草研究社檛 recycle them because they have a metal frame.含羞草研究社�
Klassen has been tuning pianos for close to 40 years, and business is still good for his .
含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檝e got a lot of work, actually,含羞草研究社� he related. 含羞草研究社淚 do quite a few recording studios. My most active customer is downtown. I含羞草研究社檝e tuned that piano around 150 times now. It含羞草研究社檚 been played by a lot of people over the years.含羞草研究社�
Now that his canoe is fully varnished, Klassen plans to put it in the water soon.
含羞草研究社淚 just finished it on Sunday (Sept. 12),含羞草研究社� he noted. 含羞草研究社淚 could have made paddles, and someday I probably will, but I just want to get it into the water now, so I bought a couple of paddles from Canadian tire.
含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檇 like to make it a family affair,含羞草研究社� Klassen said of Middle Sea含羞草研究社檚 maiden voyage, to involve his wife, Cathy, adult children, their spouses and grandchildren. 含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檒l take it somewhere, maybe Alouette Lake or something, and see if it floats 含羞草研究社� in the next couple of weeks, I imagine.含羞草研究社�
Klassen added: 含羞草研究社淐athy deserves a medal for putting up with the dust and noise I made, and also for making some crucial design suggestions.含羞草研究社�
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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