Duke said:
FREE HAIRCUTS - what could possibly go wrong
Mrs. Balls is a stylist and educator so I have a bit of a experience and that offer is totally a safe bet. Those students have completed a lot of training and passed their state boards. They have the same credentials and experience as the person in your average supercuts or whatever. They are in an advanced academy furthering their skill set beyond the average.
The low cost hair cuts at the beauty schools are the gamble but are very necessary to the education of the students. I have volunteered to be a students first human subject and their nervousness is off putting but they usually will have educators hovering around to intervene in case of any disasters .
So if you need a trim go for it 
Lots of free and nearly free pianos out there, and many are good quality instruments in good condition. It's just that they're so bloody heavy.
Duke
MegaDork
7/24/18 12:26 p.m.
1988RedT2 said:
Lots of free and nearly free pianos out there, and many are good quality instruments in good condition. It's just that they're so bloody heavy.
In my living room I have a Chickering 5-6 foot baby grand player piano. It's probably 100 years old and the finish is shot. It plays manually, but needs a tune and a tune-up, or a full rstoration if you want it to look decent. The self-playing mechanism is complete but has not been functional in my lifetime. I have 2x 15-gallon totes full of vintage song rolls for it.
I took it in a fit of guilt and family obligation when my mother got rid of it about 15 years ago. I would love to have that quarter of my living room back. I would give it away for free but I suspect DW harbors some delusion that it might be valuable.
Just looked: cats, pallets, pianos, and fill dirt. Pretty routine stuff.
The Mrs really wanted a piano recently (one of her friends was getting rid of one). Even with all the rooms in our house there just isn't a wall I'm willing to sacrifice to the piano gods.
I have gotten a few chain saws, a nice hardwood dining room table, tons of push mowers and weed wackers and various car parts and metal.
In reply to Duke :
Funny coincidence! The piano I found for my son is a 1940's Chickering upright. I gave the guy like a hundred for it as it was in pretty good shape cosmetically. Functionally perfect, or nearly so. My son still plays it regularly.
On our recent trip to the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Midtown Manhattan recently, we encountered an old baby grand in the Central Railroad of New Jersey station which houses some exhibits and serves as a ticket office for Ferry trips. The sign on the piano said "See the desk attendant if you'd like to play this piano." So naturally, my wife volunteered my 12-year old to play a few songs, which he not-too-reluctantly did. I think I enjoyed his rendition of Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" the best. We had acquired a small group of appreciative onlookers by the time he was finished. Good stuff.
As far as your baby grand goes.... A piano makes a classy dust catcher if you have the space for it and the finish is nice. Maybe a gloss black vinyl wrap?
