Barrel pianos present new challenges and this month sees me creating new hammers for this 120 year old keyframe. Odd though it may seem, despite there being no keys, the hammers are mounted in a piece of mechanism known as the ‘keyframe’. The original hammers are lost and the replacements previously fitted are of beech. Beech might be a reasonably hard wood but it doesn’t compare to ebony. So in summary, this month’s project is to create a new set in ebony. It’s a delightful wood to work with although somewhat expensive and good sharp tools/blades are essential. Looking forward to regulating and hearing this lovely old instrument in about 2 weeks time! First picture shows a hammer, second picture shows me cutting ebony and third cleaning the hammer bodies of their coating of graphite, which is used (somewhat too liberally) as a lubricant.