Piano Bar Pt 2: Making some repairs
Hey Reader,
We last talked about the piano bar back in May! If you don't recall, I found myself a piano on Craig's list and the very nice person listing it took the harp out for me. It is now a piano skin. Calling it a piano skin is kind of horrifying, so I have vowed to keep doing it.
I have been so busy with wall stuff that I really haven't touched the piano skin and have had to park around it in my garage for some time now. The walls are now done and there are even blinds in a select number of rooms. This has freed me up to get my garage a little less full of piano carcass.
It is really beautiful, but it is also pretty beat up. Last week, I talked about the feeling of anxiety about starting a project, and this piano has become another one of those projects. In an attempt to ease into it, I decided to tackle the bench first. I wasn't sure I even wanted the bench when I found the piano, but now I have the chance to test out some techniques on a less intimidating bit of furniture.
The bench was really wobbly and there were some parts that were pretty damaged along the top and at the legs. This piano and its bench were build very well, but no screws were used in this bench. Overtime, the nails loosen and the brace under the bench wasn't bracing like it used to. I tried using some wood glue to get things sorted, but decided that a few well placed screws will permanently fix the issue. Considering how much of a makeover this thing is getting, a few screws will be the least of the modernizations.
Unfortunately, the screws I had were too short, they wouldn't be long enough to make it through the sides and into the center brace. That actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I got to try insetting my screws. I drilled a hole a few centimeters into the sides that was the same width as the head of my screws, then the screws could reach the center brace AND sat well below the surface of the sides. Since I was patching a bunch of holes and scratches anyway, these new holes just got added to the list!
I used some liquid nails to fill in the holes and scratches, and then sanded it smooth. It seems I cannot escape smoothing things. This is a good time to talk about where I am doing this work. Now that the house has blinds and fancy smooth walls, I feel a little guilty doing messy projects in the living room. Since I don't have much of a backyard, I started working in my driveway right outside my garage. Not only did it mean way less cleanup, it also allowed me to meet three neighbors. I usually hide my eyes and emit a low pitched growl when I see new people, but I made an effort to be friendly. Look at me, being neighborly!
You might have noticed that I took the lid off the bench. I wanted to make some repairs to the lid and it made sense to remove it. In the first picture of the inside of the bench you can see a random piece of metal. That was originally attached to the lid and the side of the bench to prevent the lid from over extending on the hinges. Over time, the screw holding it into the side of the bench bent and it came loose. That wouldn't be a problem, but over time, the metal rod scraped and did some minor cosmetic damage to the lid and the inside of the bench.
I wasn't concerned with getting the bench perfectly smoothed out, as I wanted the finished product to look like it had some miles on it - just less miles than it actually had. I am like Matilda's dad except taller. If you don't understand that reference, go watch Matilda. This blog will still be here when you get back.
It was time to think about painting. I knew I wanted to go gray for this, but I wasn't sure how dark. Whatever I decide will need to be done to the piano too, so the decision was pretty important. I decided to try a few techniques and see what I like best. I am going with a dark base coat. I will get into what I am doing with it when we next talk about the piano, but for now, I think it is looking better already!
This is going to be a really fun project and I can't wait to see it as it starts to look like a bar. Let's hope it doesn't take 11 months like my last big project.
Keep making cool stuff.
Until next time,
JoshPrime
We last talked about the piano bar back in May! If you don't recall, I found myself a piano on Craig's list and the very nice person listing it took the harp out for me. It is now a piano skin. Calling it a piano skin is kind of horrifying, so I have vowed to keep doing it.I have been so busy with wall stuff that I really haven't touched the piano skin and have had to park around it in my garage for some time now. The walls are now done and there are even blinds in a select number of rooms. This has freed me up to get my garage a little less full of piano carcass.
It is really beautiful, but it is also pretty beat up. Last week, I talked about the feeling of anxiety about starting a project, and this piano has become another one of those projects. In an attempt to ease into it, I decided to tackle the bench first. I wasn't sure I even wanted the bench when I found the piano, but now I have the chance to test out some techniques on a less intimidating bit of furniture.The bench was really wobbly and there were some parts that were pretty damaged along the top and at the legs. This piano and its bench were build very well, but no screws were used in this bench. Overtime, the nails loosen and the brace under the bench wasn't bracing like it used to. I tried using some wood glue to get things sorted, but decided that a few well placed screws will permanently fix the issue. Considering how much of a makeover this thing is getting, a few screws will be the least of the modernizations.
Unfortunately, the screws I had were too short, they wouldn't be long enough to make it through the sides and into the center brace. That actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I got to try insetting my screws. I drilled a hole a few centimeters into the sides that was the same width as the head of my screws, then the screws could reach the center brace AND sat well below the surface of the sides. Since I was patching a bunch of holes and scratches anyway, these new holes just got added to the list!
You might have noticed that I took the lid off the bench. I wanted to make some repairs to the lid and it made sense to remove it. In the first picture of the inside of the bench you can see a random piece of metal. That was originally attached to the lid and the side of the bench to prevent the lid from over extending on the hinges. Over time, the screw holding it into the side of the bench bent and it came loose. That wouldn't be a problem, but over time, the metal rod scraped and did some minor cosmetic damage to the lid and the inside of the bench.
I wasn't concerned with getting the bench perfectly smoothed out, as I wanted the finished product to look like it had some miles on it - just less miles than it actually had. I am like Matilda's dad except taller. If you don't understand that reference, go watch Matilda. This blog will still be here when you get back.
It was time to think about painting. I knew I wanted to go gray for this, but I wasn't sure how dark. Whatever I decide will need to be done to the piano too, so the decision was pretty important. I decided to try a few techniques and see what I like best. I am going with a dark base coat. I will get into what I am doing with it when we next talk about the piano, but for now, I think it is looking better already!
Keep making cool stuff.
Until next time,
JoshPrime
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