The Steinway Project

the Steinway Square Grand

I am lucky to have recently been offered an antique Steinway Square Grand piano, to use as the basis for a one-off furniture collection.  I am now considering the options: the purpose of the collection, how to express the essence of the piano in furniture, and how to use substantially all of the piano in whatever I make.

The piano itself is unlikely to ever be playable again, since it has been sitting in a barn in New Hampshire for the past decade or so.  But otherwise it's in amazing condition.  It has all of its parts: the main case of solid mahogany, cast iron soundboard, all the keys (with ivory veneer and real ebony), a super-flat 3-piece solid mahogany top, four fat, carved mahogany legs, mahogany pedal board, and a mahogany sheet music stand - carved with Steinway's twin serpent logo.  All of the wood is in excellent shape, and so is the finish, including the Steinway decal over the keyboard. 


My initial thought as that this one piano is too big to be made into a single piece of furniture.  Also, whatever is made will be so big and bold that few private homes could accommodate it.  I wonder if this collection is destined for a bar, restaurant, or nightclub.  Using the gorgeous sound board is another challenge: should I take the easy route and put the sound board under a glass table top, or be more adventurous?  Perhaps the sound board could be made into a chandelier of some kind, to hang over a table made from the main body of the piano.  I am also thinking of making a tall, slender cabinet, and turning the keys into handles and hinges for the cabinet doors. 

Of course, the legs are an altogether different challenge.

Take a look at the pictures, and tell me what you think I should do! (click "read more" below to see the pics).

Minwax Polyshades vs. Water-Based Black Stain Comparison

Getting a good black finish on furniture can be a challenge.  There are plenty of ways to attack the problem, and I have tried most of them.  Today, I compare Minwax Polyshades black polyurethane, to General Finishes' Black water-based stain.  I'll give you my verdict right up front, in case you don't have time to read this entire post: use a water-based black stain such as General's.  Don't go the oil-based route, and don't use Minwax Polyshades.

I have long preferred water-based black stain for getting my furniture black, for a few reasons.

1. First, I like the water-based cleanup process (just rinse with water).  
2. Second, I have always had problems with oil-based black stains, especially if I'm brushing them on, because oil based stains have a tendency to stick to the brush, and it's easy to remove stain from the work while trying to put it on.  This is a problem peculiar to black stain, because with black stain, the goal is usually a completely black finish, whereas with other stains the goal is merely to tint the wood, or bring out the grain.  
3. Third, water-based finishes, including stains, dry much faster than oil-based finishes, and they tend to flow out more evenly, leaving a uniform finish on the work.