How about it is a skinned 'Nauga'? John Ross Windsor, Nova Scotia On 22-Mar-10, at 9:31 PM, Terry Farrell wrote: > I did some tuning, etc. on a 1959 (from serial number) Wurlitzer > console today. First thing I noticed about it was the amateur back > porch refinishing job on the case - I mean the brushed on quality > type (and not using brushable clear finish!) - the finish was not > old-looking - looked like it might be 20 or so years old - sure > didn't look like a 51 year old finish. No big deal with that, of > course. Open the lid - or try to - oh, okay, I finally got it - the > lid was constructed a little bit unusual (strip of wood on the front > bottom edge - like the music desk piece wasn't tall enough). Well, > okay, Wurlies can be weird. Remove music desk and bottom board. > Looks really strange inside - ah, there is no finish on any of the > interior wood - zilch, nada. Lookin' at the "refinishing job" and it > clearly appears that this is the original finish. There is > absolutely no trace of original factory-type finish. And parts/ > surfaces/edges that always get factory-finished on all pianos have > no finish at all. And there is absolutely zero trace of any > stripping activity. And believe me, who ever did this amateur case > finishing had no knowledge of how to remove a finish and leave no > trace. > > The case construction - the way the music desk is screwed in, the > pedal box for the three foot pedals, the bottom board, the matching > bench - everything is 1920s style - clearly not 1959. By 1920s > style, I mean big wooden blocks used to hold things together. The > bench legs have like no hardware - the bench sides a solid 2x2" > hardwood, with a huge hardwood triangle in each corner with big > screws holding things together - again, like you'd see on an old > upright, not a 1959 Wurly console. Heck, I didn't remove the bench > legs, but they probably had wooden threads! (Just kidding....) > > The top lid is about a half-inch short of the length of the case - > so on each end of the top, you can see the top edge of the case > sides - the edge of the outer oak veneer and the inner hardwood > core. There is no Wurlitzer decal on the fallboard (although the > fallboard did have the typical Wurly slide mechanism!). The sides of > the keybed - usually they are sculpted in some way on the front top > corner - these are almost squared off (looks real strange - like the > ends of a square grand keyboard). > > IMHO, there is no way (zero chance) the finish on this case was > applied in any factory in Decalb or any other Wurlitzer factory. And > I'm 98% sure that the case was not built in any Wurlitzer factory. > The only thing I can think of is that someone, maybe in the 1980s or > 70s, got hold of an unused 1959 Wurly console strung back/board/ > plate assembly - and maybe a keybed - oh, and the fallboard > mechanism that had been sitting around in some closet or lonely > corner under a pile of whatever or up in the factory attic - somehow > the assembly was built, but then it somehow fell off or was yanked > from the normal production line (maybe an employee got drunk, swiped > it off the line, hid it good somewhere in the factory, and then > forgot the next day!). Anyway, someone - maybe an employee at the > factory somehow got hold of this strung back assembly and finished > it off 20 or 30 0r 40 years ago in his garage (or back porch). > > That's all I can come up with. Anyone else have a theory? I will be > returning to the piano in a few days - maybe late this week - anyone > find this mystery interesting enough to want to see pictures???? > > Upon initial inspection of this thing I'm sure I stared at this > beast for at least ten minutes uttering quiet little WTFs to > myself........ > > Terry Farrell
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