The Octave The purpose of this project is simple: to provide an opportunity  for people to learn about the inner workings of the piano.

Project planning

During this period, background research was conducted and several decisions about the project were made. 

• Subject: Upright piano action
• Scale: 8x
• Setting: Outdoors
• Material: Treated lumber

Upright piano action, as opposed to spinet and grand was selected for the following reasons:

1. It will require a smaller footprint than a Grand piano action.
2. Most of the moving parts will be out of reach of small hands.
3. It is the piano action most people will have personally experienced.

The selection of the scale was natural. 8 is the number of notes in the most western musical scales, 8 is the cube of 2, which is the multiplier in frequency between octaves. This scale works well with common treated lumber sizes, thereby minimizing material and labor costs.

Here are links to excellent websites we encountered during our research:

• Virtual Grand Action
• CAD Grand Piano animation
• Timing in the Grand piano action
• Upright action diagram and legend

 Construction begins

• An articulated model of the action was built out of upright piano parts.
• After careful measurement and layout, carving begins.
• Treated lumber carves quite easily when the chisels are sharp.
• Master Machinist, Marty Toth of Michigan Technological University, was contracted to manufacture metal parts.