1967 Hamilton Baby grand 56" x 63"

by tom
(suwanee georgia)

I would like to know how to build a skid board. What materials and the proper size. YouTube videos show it appears to be two strips of plywood sandwiched between additional strips so the straps can go through at the proper locations.

tomoconnell@bellsouth.net

Tom: This is an interesting project. there used to be a company in your part of the US which made skid boards at what i thought were very competitive prices. I cant find the link directly, but look like these piano skids.

Now over here in the UK, as I have said elsewhere, we use piano shoes... they have a back plate on one side and require the mover to remove the lid (and hinges). They do offer one advantage
which is that the back plate helps secure the piano to the shoe in really trick situations (like on a turn on the stairs). Was that relevant?

Well I made up an American style skid, which most days we thank providence for. We mainly use it for pulling upright pianos up outside steps.

You can find the piano skid plans here

That was a first attempt and if I made it again, I would want to make the lengths of box section steel wider apart for greater stability (say 400mm) and some sort of rounding off of the sharp edges... we often have to use a board to avoid damage to flooring when up-ending the piano / skid.

Hope that helps. comments and questions welcome.


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