The "Baby" Grand

Seven years ago, my Dad had just passed away and we were

cleaning out my family home.  

This was my father's workshop - the basement.  He spent
a lot of time down there, puttering around.

Our fear of spiders prevented us from venturing down those stairs.
 After he was gone, though,  I was drawn to this place.

Amidst the chaos, there were treasures to be discovered!

One of those treasures was an old piano - 

a real "baby" grand piano.  It was really beaten

up and missing a leg, but when Annie saw it,
she wanted it.

It's been in our basement for the past seven years. 

Last week, we finally got around to refurbishing it!

A mother/daughter project.

It was my "piano" when I was a little girl.

The paper covering on many of the keys had peeled off.

A series of graduated metal tines inside the piano is 

what actually makes the sounds.  

When a key is pressed, a hammer is raised, 

hitting the corresponding metal rod for that note.

The wooden hammers are attached by a piece of cardboard. 

There is a little piece of felt on the back of the keys to

prevent wear and tear on the cardboard.  After more than 55 years,

it is amazing that all of these hammers were still in good shape!

The piano box was cracked in a few places, so I needed

to glue and clamp it until it dried.

The piano originally had 3 legs, but one was missing.

We couldn't duplicate the same leg, so instead added

a more decorative one.  

A good sanding and coat of paint

was next.

Next, the keys needs to be covered.   We used sheets of

dry-erase paper.  Since each key was a slightly different size/shape,

Annie glued the paper and then used a razor blade to shave the

edge of each key.

While working on the keys,  we noticed there was a lot

of dust under the keys, so we pulled a rag through

to clean it out.

A nice new set of 20 keys! 

Now it's time to assemble to pieces!

The metal tines are screwed in place under the top of the piano.

The new leg was screwed into place.

We used the original screws to attach the bottom

of the piano.

Mother/daughter hands.

Annie had a little fun before touching up 

the paint and painting the screw tops.

Finally,  she cut shiny black paper to simulate the

black keys.

Ta-da!  BEautiful!

Just the right size for Maddie!

Although it has only 20 keys,  it really does play!

Annie will be taking this piano with her

to her new apartment when she moves in

at the end of this month.  She will use

it as a little table, maybe with a vase of

flowers on top!

I love that Annie wanted to give my old toy a new purpose.
I love that she could envision its possibilities.
Most of all, I love that we worked together to give it a new life!