Hornsteiner Perfecta harp zither restoration begins

[attila57]

Hello Dear Forum Members!

I gladly announce that I"m the proud owner of two beautiful zithers. One is a Perfekta harp zither and the other is a smaller concert zither. The Perfekta is a Hornsteiner, it has a label, and it must be more than 100 years old. The small one has no label, but it is so similar to the Hornsteiner in every small detail (soundhole shape & decoration, top & side veneer, purfling, tuners, bottom paint etc.) that I can't help thinking that it must be a Hornsteiner, too. Both have their original case, tuning tools etc. included. The Perfecta even has a foldable table notestand in its case.☺

The good part is that I didn't have to pay too much for them, only 100 euros for the two. I might have even got the Perfekta for free if I'd wanted to. The problematic part is that their condition is really awful. They both need full restoration, the cases, too. The problems to solve are the following:

Perfekta zither

- Inside full of dirt, mould, possibly mice☺, clean it out, but how (vacuum, ???)?
- The whole instrument is dirty, clean it, but with what (chemical, solvent)?
- Back cracked in 3 places along the whole length of the board. Glue it up somehow.
- String attachment block (bridge?) with the string hooks is severely cracked. No idea what to do with it.
- Bridge cover plate is cracked. Glue it up.
- Strings are dirty, rusty, old, metal... Change the complete set.
- I'd like to put rosewood veneer on the bottom plate, too.
- Case lining and cover is dirty, completely worn. Case top is cracked all along its length. Complete refurbishment of the case is necessary.

Small concert zither

- Clean the inside (dusty)
- Clean and polish the outside (tuning machine plate, too)
- Whiten the bone parts (tuners, feet)
- Remove the shaft of one foot that's probably glued in.
- Remove paint from bottom and put veneer on it.
Bridge is chipped in many places. Saddle is broken, wire is corroded. Make complete new bridge and saddle.
- Upper saddle is cracked, metal wire is worn, rusty. Change wire. Glue up the crack.
- Strings old, steel, missing etc. Complete new set is needed.
Case lining and cover is worn. Case wood contains a lot of wormholes. Refurbish case or buy a new case.

As you can see, these jobs will keep me busy for some time, or they will probably set me back with a smaller fortune.

I'd appreciate your ideas about any of these tasks, how to do them, with what kind of materials, etc.

Attila