Raise a glass to...Leo Baekeland - inventor of Bakelite

[steveg]

On this day in 1909 he announced the creation of our beloved Bakelite, the first successful plastic.

 

[gonzo]

Interesting. Did bakelite ever achieve its original design objective or some unintended application like adhesive on Post-it. GONZO.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

 

[Keoke]

Interesting. Did bakelite ever achieve its original design objective or some unintended application like adhesive on Post-it. GONZO.

NO !!

 

[HealeyRick]

One word - bakelite!

 

[Joe Schlosser]

I learned all about Bakelite in my polymers course at engineering school. Although it has its' issues Bakelite was for its time and probably still is a truly amazing product.
Remember that before this product Billiard balls and Piano Keys were made of ivory.

 

[RestoreThemAll]

So Jo does my early 1900 upright grand piano have ivory or Bakelite keys?

 

[Joe Schlosser]

Bakelite was invented in 1907 but I have no Idea how long it took to be commercially introduced and what it was first used for.
I have a late 1880s Harmonium with Ivory keys and pull knobs, all very yellowed with time, so if the white keys have turned yellow it is probably Ivory.

 

[Keoke]

So Jo does my early 1900 upright grand piano have ivory or Bakelite keys?

Well Maybe:

Exportation of Ivory was severely curtailed in 1989 to discourage poaching.

However, some may have been on hand or slipped through.

If you take a very small object like a piece of wire heat it and burn Ivory on your piano in an inconspicuous place the odor will be like hair burning. Which is not a characteristic of Bakelite

 

[RestoreThemAll]

Piano keys are only slightly yellowed. I'd say they are Leo's invention. I hate to burn the keys but I'm now very curious. If I find anything interesting I'll let you know but I don't want to hijack a Bakelite thread on a car forum for piano stuff

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Bakelite was invented in 1907 but I have no Idea how long it took to be commercially introduced and what it was first used for.
I have a late 1880s Harmonium with Ivory keys and pull knobs, all very yellowed with time, so if the white keys have turned yellow it is probably Ivory.

According to Wikipedia, the first commercial use--as electrical insulators--was in 1908, and it started to appear in billiard balls in 1912 so, yeah, your keys are probably ivory.