i bought an old piano few months ago. maker's name is shaw piano co.,serial number is 12846. (i'm a music teacher, but i was always interested in piano tuning so i went to tuning school few years ago. i tune my piano & sometimes friends'. i thought i'll buy cheap old piano and play around...repair etc...) it has very ugly paint all over, and 7hammers are broken, but has very pretty carvings everywhere & has nice victorian shape. is this piano too nice for me to play with? should i ask professonal to do the repair?

It's a good way to learn how to repair and tune. I think we all started that way. As far as your question about its being too nice to play with, it's not. Its value is probably next to nothing, so learn on it. Unless you are thinking of restoring it, you don't need a professional yet. Have fun and learn!...Sam

By the way, it dates to 1900.....