Piano Project - Part 3

Next up was a set of new casters, because the old ones had seen better days and I knew I was going to be wheeling this thing around a lot. Excitedly I mounted them, and then realized maybe I should have waited. It turns out, my timing was right as I was going to be moving this thing a lot throughout the end of the project.



I knew I wanted to stain the inside and back, and paint the exterior frame complimentary shades of aqua and deep blue. Here's a quick shot of the finishes I landed on:



1. Behr primer/paint combo in flat. Sample can. Plenty of paint to hit the panels I wanted.
2. Glidden high gloss for the kick board. Easy to clean, durable, slightly different shade than the paint on purpose for depth.
3. Minwax water-based stain, dyed custom by the lady at home depot based on my paint swatch.
4. Clear coat for the stained areas.
5. Also, some serious wood glue I used for reattaching the bottom of the piano back on.

Then, a quick fit-test to see what kind of room I would have on the edges, and how big the plex would need to be that would function as my "bottom shelf". This 49-key Axiom fit nicely.




Next up: the shelves. I wanted the top one to be stained wood and the bottom to be made of plexi-glass so that I could inlay custom artwork in the 4 wood squares and they would be seen through the working surface. Picked up a piece of plex from a dear friend who is known for having this sort of thing on hand. Cut it with a jigsaw, then drilled holes in the notched sections to get the jigsaw running side-to-side to finish the notches. Despite all advice, I found running the saw quickly (instead of slowly like everyone suggested) made the cleanest cuts with no melted plastic.



Here's one of the glass laid in, with notches taken out of the back edge to stabilize any sliding. (It still has the protective blue coating on.)