KATRINA BRANDON
BY KATRINA BRANDON
THE restoration process of anything is quite hard to do, and after 35 years of ownership of this 104 years of age glockenspiel, David Willis has done it in just a few months.
The instrument came from Yallourn North, and has been around since 1919 with mostly original make apart from some non-restorable pieces on the casing.
Mr Willis used to work in a local music shop in the area and was asked if he would like the instrument even in such bad condition.
“I started working for her (Kath Teychenne) when I was about 19, now I am in my 60s. The Yallourn Orchestra (after the town closure) donated what instruments they owned to the Latrobe Orchestra,” Mr Willis said.
“It was in very poor condition but it wasn’t wanted, so old Kat said ‘you can have that’.
“It sat in the back of my shed for over 35 years. I love restoring bits and pieces and said one day I will restore that. That day was four months ago, I thought now is the time to get into it.”
The old glockenspiel’s title is an 1919 Deagan, model 12229, Round Top Orchestral Bell Glockenspiel which was built in America at the time with nickel plating, felt inside and a red tiger oak cabinet that the instrument can be played and stored in.
“It took a lot of work and was done in just on four months. I sanded it back, stained it, everything has been apart, the whole frame has been apart. I have had to repair part of the frame because it was broken,” Mr Willis said.
“I used to be a piano tuner so I have a lot of felt, but I had to go buy some because they were 6mm and I only had up to 5mm.
“The wood I used for the cabinet is oak, but I had to work out where to get it. The actual oak is red tiger oak because of the pattern. You could only get it in America, it was actually made in America.”
In the end, Mr Willis had to replace some of the pieces of wood on the cabinet with normal red oak wood and headed to the local Men’s Shed to get it thinned.
Now, the glockenspiel is back to looking like a new instrument while still being 104 years of age if you really look deeply into the casing and pieces.
When played, it is back to new once again.
Then: The glockenspiel before restoration. Photograph supplied
