Ivory has been used on guitars for a long time and in fact Martin (big, old,
good guitar maker Jeff) used some real ivory until the 1980’s.  When it is thin
like a piano key, I have seen red paint in the recess before the ivory and it
gives it a nice color.

I just copied a Martin from pre-civil war times and put a faux ivory bridge on
it - the original would have been covered in ivory stuff.  It is redwood and
maple where the originals would have been spruce and maple.  All of the other
white-ish strips are what is called Ivoroid.  This is a very early plastic made
from the residue of photography chemicals - the oldest plastic was this stuff in
1858 (??)Many piano keys were made of this starting in the 1870’s.

I love this instrument  - Click left and right, text below, and my daughter
plays a little tune on the last frame:


https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/50356331877/in/album-72157678301955987/


Ed Minch

Thanks Ed!  Lovely guitar.  I think you are referring to celluloid
(developed in mid-1800’s, flammable, smells a bit like camphor or Vick’s
Vapo-rub when scratched or dipped in hot water)?  Turns up in various
objects at flea markets.
   In contrast, ‘modern’ plastics have no smell (except for phenolics
-smell like formaldehyde & phenol -aka Bakelite, the original thermoset
plastic that was used in pretty much everything 100 years ago).  Not an
expert but remembering old mat sci lectures from engineering skule a
lifetime ago...
Cheers from Waterloo
Claudio

Thanks for the pix of the wonderful ax Ed!
Its amazingly generous of you to take so many beautifully composed 
pictures to share.

But I searched and searched hoping for a moment with Mamie.

pianos
  Its about the age of the instrument. They quit using ivory even as 
veneer long ago and even the black keys are dyed maple on many of them.

   My portico is sporting a pair of piano legs. My son was renting a 
house and there was a piano in the shed, which had leaked badly and for 
years.
No way was that moldy rotting falling apart wreck ever coming back.

I wasn't able to salvage much. But I did get the legs and damned if they 
didn't come in handy hahaha.

http://users.snowcrest.net/kitty/auction/rafters14.jpg
yours scott

-- 
*******************************
    Scott Grandstaff
    Box 409 Happy Camp, Ca  96039
    scottg@s...
    http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/
    http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/index.html