The Remarkable Transformation of an 1893 Seybold Piano into a Coffee Bar
Discover the fascinating journey of a 17-year-old 4H’er, Stone Stauch, as he embarked on an ambitious Home Environment project that transformed a forgotten 1893 Seybold upright piano into a stunning coffee bar. What began as a simple idea quickly evolved into a deep dive into local history, uncovering surprising connections and untold stories about the piano’s past. From the initial search on Facebook Marketplace to the intricate process of dismantling and repurposing the antique, this project is a testament to creativity, perseverance, and the unexpected ways in which history can touch our lives. Join us as we explore the remarkable transformation and the rich legacy behind this one-of-a-kind piece.
We have included the essay submitted with the project below. We’ve also created a video montage of the completed project, featuring an interview with Stone, offering a closer look at the inspiration, challenges, and triumphs behind this beautiful piece of art.
• Disclaimer: While this video features piano music in the background, please note that the piano showcased in the project is no longer playable. The instrument was repurposed for this creative project and is now a decorative coffee bar.
Stone Stauch
Home Environment 2024
For my Home Environment project this year, I wanted to do something bigger and more different than I had done before. With a little help from Pinterest, I found the idea of using a piano. With finally having an idea of what to use, I then had to decide what to use it for. There were many options, these being a bench, coat rack to go in an entryway, as well as a coffee bar, or desk. Eventually, I decided on a coffee bar.
Now the only problem was finding a piano, so with the help of my Mamaw, I got onto Facebook Marketplace and started the search for an old upright piano that led us to a listing for a free upright piano in Cloverdale, IN. We got the truck and trailer ready to go, and my brother helped too. Once we made it to the house to pick up the piano, my Mamaw then realized the person giving us the piano was a relative of hers going way back. The piano was loaded into the trailer, and we screwed boards into the floor of the trailer and tied it down to keep it from moving around in the trailer.
After we got home, we unloaded the piano and began to take it apart. To take the piano apart, lots of research was done, this included watching lots of YouTube videos and settled on this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sOEvkyihSO&t=375s
When taking it apart, we realized there is way more history to this piano than we originally thought. The piano was believed to be made in 1893 and then awarded to the Strauch Brothers by the judges at the Columbian Exposition in 1893 for the actions of the pianos they created; the piece also states that it was awarded as a commemoration for the 400th anniversary of Columbus discovering America. The actions of a piano are how the keys hit the hammers, and the hammers hit the strings to make the sound. Since my last name is Stauch, I found this very interesting and researched the Strauch Brothers. They won several awards for their actions of pianos (documents attached). We also found a mouse nest under the keyboard!
The piano was numbered (2200) and had some penciled names on it. After talking to a few people, we came to find out that the signatures were done when the piano was tuned. One of the signatures was P. Evans, Greencastle, IN. My Mamaw put out on Facebook to see if anyone knew this signature, and we got several responses! Turned out that P. Evans is Paul Evans, an uncle of one of our neighbors! Paul tuned pianos on the side, hauled milk for Handy’s Dairy by horse & buggy, was a postman, and played in a band named The Kitchen Band. A Putnam County native! (picture included)
After help from my papaw with taking apart the piano we began to Sand EVERYTHING. The walls of the piano, the feet, the keys, the inside, the outside, the back and everything in between. We used 80 grit sandpaper and 120 grit sandpaper on an electric orbital sander and a hand sander where the electric one couldn't reach to ensure a smooth surface for painting. After the keys were sanded with 120 grit sandpaper I spray painted all the black keys to touch up the old black paint which was faded and chipped. The new black paint helped to revive the old keys. While working on the white keys I noticed a few red stains on the backs of a few of the keys. With some digging into the piano I found a few old crayons one of which was a red Crayola which we think is from the 1950s. We also found a blueish Blendwell crayon also from the 1950s. Along with the crayons there was a pencil and a small note with the hymns of what the pianist was going to play that day as well as two small prayers on the note. This led me to believe the piano resided in a church for a good portion of its life.
After keys were sanded and the black ones repainted we had to re-glue on a few of the plastic pieces that fell off the white keys. After that was done it was then realized that a few were missing the top keycaps. To fix this problem my Papaw helped me add drywall mud to the tops and smooth that out to create a smooth surface that was then painted off white to match the others. Once the keys were done I placed them all in order back into the boards that held the keys.
Then we began to get ready to paint the piano. I wanted to keep the wood original and just refinish it but sadly that wasn't an option. There was a very thin layer of veneer overtop of some of the wood and the finish had bubbled up and become too rough to refinish. This led us to decide to paint the piano black.
After consulting a friend of ours, Bryan Tyler, about what kind of paint to use and whether to brush the paint or spray the paint we decided to use his suggestion and spray the paint. We also decided to spray a clear coat on the back where the strings were as a protective coating. We paid the piano on its back to paint the clear coat to prevent any runs, then hoisted it upright to paint the black. To prevent the clear cost from getting on the wood, we taped off the borders around the back as well as anywhere else the clear coat my hit. After the clear coat was done and dried, we then put cardboard over the strings and back as well as tape around the edges to hold down the cardboard as well as taping off other tiny places that the paint might reach where it shouldn't.
The sprayer decided to give us a few problems, one being the first nozzle leaking everywhere. So after that issue was resolved we got to painting and got through a large majority of the piano but once the second coat was being applied the nozzle that was supposed to being spraying like a fan then turned into a squirt gun and sprayed a nice thick line of paint all over the new area I just painted making a large streak and making the paint run all down the side. I fixed this by cleaning the nozzle and turning up the pressure on the spray painting machine and then using a paint roller to roll over the streaking part to smooth it out. Then a real quick spray over the damaged area resolved our issue. We also put new castors on the bottom and had to cut new spacers out of wood to make them fit properly.
After the painting was done, we took a day off for it to dry. Once the paint was dry we began on the electrical which involved wiring 3 outlets to one cord. One of the outlets has a switch to control the lights and the other one has 2 USB ports in it. My dad came out to help me with the wiring. When all the outlets were in place and wired we then tested them with our power sander by plugging it in to see if we had power to run it. After testing was complete, I added the light strips to the top and bottom of the piano and plugged them in.
The next step was to screw in the boards holding all the keys but before that a small board was cut and slid under the keys to prop them up like the original keyboard. The same was done to the foot pedals, which were polished with Brasso, on the bottom. Once the keyboard was screwed in the glass was then placed over the keys, the back and bottom. The glass was secured by purchased glass clips and wood cut from the pieces that were removed from the piano when taking it apart.
With the glass secured we then added the final board to the front. With the piece being complete I went around to double check that nothing needed touched up and then we added all the decor and the piece was ready for display. Most of the accessories on the top came from garage sales, thrift store, Amazon or home.
I could not have done this project without the help of my Papaw, Mamaw, Mom and Dad. Thank you to all.
