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