The key to George Klassen害羞草研究所檚 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害羞草研究所檚 Fleetwood-area home.
It might be the only canoe of its kind in the world.
害羞草研究所淚 haven害羞草研究所檛 come across anything like this,害羞草研究所� Klassen noted. 害羞草研究所淎s far as I know, this is the only one on the globe made of pianos, but I might be wrong.害羞草研究所�
A longtime piano tuner, he found inspiration in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, in spring 2020.
害羞草研究所淣one of us knew what to do with our time, right?害羞草研究所� Klassen said. 害羞草研究所淚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, 害羞草研究所楽omeday I害羞草研究所檓 going to have more time, you know, to do something. So it害羞草研究所檇 be nice to experiment.害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟
(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.
害羞草研究所� 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.
害羞草研究所淚 know that every day, there are these old, brown upright pianos that are just going to the dump, one after the other 害羞草研究所� you can害羞草研究所檛 even give them away,害羞草研究所� Klassen said.
害羞草研究所淚 thought, 害羞草研究所業 wonder if somebody milled some of these old pianos into strips and turned them into a canoe.害羞草研究所� That害羞草研究所檚 what started the whole process.害羞草研究所�
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.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 really beautiful wood,害羞草研究所� Klassen noted, 害羞草研究所渂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 害羞草研究所� about 10 pounds heavier than a cedar-strip one.害羞草研究所�
Klassen is justifiably proud of his canoe害羞草研究所檚 details.
害羞草研究所淭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,害羞草研究所� he explained.
害羞草研究所淚n the pictures, you害羞草研究所檒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害羞草研究所檚 three key tops. I inlayed those on either end, and those are actual ivory piano keys.
害羞草研究所淭he handle to carry the canoe, on each end, those are the handles that were on the back of the pianos, two of them,害羞草研究所� Klassen added.
害羞草研究所淎nd the yoke in the middle, the piece used to carry the canoe, it害羞草研究所檚 a back post from a piano, shaved down and formed into a yoke.害羞草研究所�
Joan Clark, co-owner of , on King George Boulevard in Surrey, first alerted the Now-Leader about Klassen害羞草研究所檚 canoe project.
害羞草研究所淗e tunes the pianos here,害羞草研究所� Clark explained. 害羞草研究所�(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.害羞草研究所�
Clark said old upright pianos have become a huge problem.
害羞草研究所淲e get lots of calls, but we don害羞草研究所檛 take them in and you can害羞草研究所檛 sell them. People are going to smaller acoustic pianos, or digitals,害羞草研究所� Clark explained. 害羞草研究所淎 lot of them are beautiful pianos and functional, but people just don害羞草研究所檛 have room for them in their houses anymore, or their apartments.
害羞草研究所淲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害羞草研究所檛 recycle them because they have a metal frame.害羞草研究所�
Klassen has been tuning pianos for close to 40 years, and business is still good for his .
害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檝e got a lot of work, actually,害羞草研究所� he related. 害羞草研究所淚 do quite a few recording studios. My most active customer is downtown. I害羞草研究所檝e tuned that piano around 150 times now. It害羞草研究所檚 been played by a lot of people over the years.害羞草研究所�
Now that his canoe is fully varnished, Klassen plans to put it in the water soon.
害羞草研究所淚 just finished it on Sunday (Sept. 12),害羞草研究所� he noted. 害羞草研究所淚 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.
害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檇 like to make it a family affair,害羞草研究所� Klassen said of Middle Sea害羞草研究所檚 maiden voyage, to involve his wife, Cathy, adult children, their spouses and grandchildren. 害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檒l take it somewhere, maybe Alouette Lake or something, and see if it floats 害羞草研究所� in the next couple of weeks, I imagine.害羞草研究所�
Klassen added: 害羞草研究所淐athy deserves a medal for putting up with the dust and noise I made, and also for making some crucial design suggestions.害羞草研究所�
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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