Art Beat
Preserving History One Beat At A Time
applying fine finishes to wood, understanding the mechanics of how things work, fundamentals of music and returning items to their original glory.”
Southport Bassist Repairs Metronomes STORY BY CARLA EDSTROM
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metronome is a necessary tool for musicians to help them keep time in their music. The classic triangle-shaped wooden boxes with a swinging pendulum commonly sit on top of pianos. Metronomes have changed throughout history, and there are several different types of designs, from ones using a quartz crystal to digital apps. But the classical metronome deserves all the respect for its beauty, mechanical design, and vintage craftsmanship. Brien Sandstrom, musician and wood craftsman, restores these historical treasures to their former beauty. “To me they are like old pieces of art, and it gives me great satisfaction bringing them back to life,” he said. “When I was a teen studying music,
I received a wooden pyramid-shaped metronome made by Seth Thomas as a gift. The Seth Thomas clock company was a couple towns away from where I grew up, and their clocks and metronomes were a known commodity in Connecticut. About three years ago, I realized I no longer had my Seth Thomas Metronome, so I began my search for a replacement. I located a vintage Seth Thomas, very similar to the one I had. Because this was an antique metronome, I took it apart, cleaned it, and brought it back to working condition. This experience made me realize I could take old vintage and antique metronomes and restore them to their former glory,” he said. “As I acquire additional vintage metronomes, the learning process continues, and my restoration pro-
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cess becomes more specific and the finished quality continues to improve. To date, I have restored just under 100 vintage metronomes.” Although he has a BS in Music Education with the Double Bass as his primary instrument, Sandstrom spent most of his career in IT as a computer programmer and consultant. “I also love wood turning. I started with a small lathe making wooden and acrylic pens. My turning these days pretty much consist of making and selling exotic-wood handled Scratch Awls and turning parts for the restoration of vintage metronomes,” he said. “Having a degree in my first love, music, and because a vintage metronome was a key factor in developing my role as a timekeeper in music, restoration of these antique tools made a lot of sense for me. Restoring vintage metronomes uses many of the skills and interests I have; woodworking,
The restoring process is pretty straight forward according to Sandstrom. “Upon acquiring a vintage metronome, I start by cleaning the exterior and assessing its condition. I then perform any needed repairs or replacement of parts,” he said. “The metronome gets logged into my inventory, and it goes into a queue of metronomes to be restored. I typically have around 25 metronomes in the queue,” he said. “My restoration process begins with disassembling the entire metronome. All metal items are removed from the exterior of the wooden case, the movement is removed and taken apart. All metal parts receive an initial cleaning in an ultrasonic cleaner and then
