Before and After: Repurposing a 1910 Howard grand piano

This is how the piano got to the shop.  We did not have a truck and so we used my Pacific.  The Case was tied to the top rack and the parts were placed in the back of the vehicle.  It was interesting to see the reactions by both drivers and pedestrians to a suv having a piano on top of it!

Here the bottom shelf is being test fitted along with the front legs.  two legs from the piano were cut down to make the front legs.  The mounting hole then had a corresponding piece of wood placed into the drilled-out hole for the leg.  Once it was stained and varnished it looked great!

After staining the interior with a custom-made stain, the plugs that were installed over the drill holes for the legs can hardly be detected.  the stain worked out quite nicely!

The fake soundboard helped give the impression there is a soundboard in the bookcase.  But to pull it off I used a spruce veneer piece of 1/4" plywood. It does not look totally like a soundboard but makes a point in the case once it is stained with the golden stain.  The keys have been installed and are glued into place to prevent movement.

The soundboard is in place, and the shelves have not been installed.  Note the shelves were cut from the lid of the grand piano case.  The only wood products bought for the bookcase was the soundboard, The edging veneer and the bottom shelf.  The project kept the case from going to the landfill and made a beautiful bookcase.

Here the shelves have been added, and the wood has been varnished. The shelves have been edged with a veneer that the grain matches the shelves. the original exterior wood case was not stripped. A custom-made stain that matches the exterior was mixed and applied to the case. Then varnish was applied both inside and outside. Note the stain is made by Old Masters. We use it and do not get any comp

The back of the case looks very authentic.  The cutting of the soundboard was a challenge since marking it and cutting out, the only way to do it was to screw it to the case and scribe along the case lines.  Then to remove it and to cut it freehand with a jig saw.  The cut is absolutely perfect, and the back was attached with long number 8 screws with stainless steel cup washers.  the varnish lo

This looks really nice in the piano room of the home.  Notice the keys are left as is, and the case is pretty much the same.   The case can hold a great deal of music and music books.  the piano lamp on top adds even more authenticity.