M
MIArmyBand
Guest
Yesterday I received a box of mother of pearl inlaid decorative veneers that belonged to my great-grandfather, who was an accordion builder who emigrated to Cleveland, Ohio from Europe around 1906. Inside the box was a beautifully finished accordion treble side section with ornate inlay and finish in mother of pearl. My great-grandfather worked in an accordion factory in Cleveland, and built early button-style accordions (I still can't identify the kind of instrument this is from my family photos). Since I am a piano accordion player and accordion repairman myself, I am considering using the beautiful inlay pieces to decorate a modern accordion. Does anyone have experience removing celluloid from a piano accordion and either refinishing, or applying wood veneer to the instrument to give the body a wood look? This seems to be the only way aesthetically that I could incorporate my inlaid mother of pearl veneer into a modern instrument. I see that some modern manufacturers have begun to sell wood finished instruments now, and I am imagining a similar look with the addition of my inlay. The pieces of veneer I have are mother of pearl pieces cut and set into thin veneer, with old newspaper (in the German language) glued to the back to hold the mother of pearl to the wood. Some of the pieces have handwritten price tags in CK, which indicate that the pieces may be from the Czech lands. Before I destroy a celluloid accordion body with experimentation, I am hoping to hear from someone who has done something like this before. I have some experience with veneering furniture but those were flat surfaces and I can't imagine attempting the curved edges of a piano accordion without cracking the veneer. Perhaps the plywood under a piano accordion's celluloid would be attractive enough to sand and stain and my veneer could be laid into it. Any ideas or experiences would be welcome. I think this would be a great tribute to my family and a wonderful heirloom for my children.
