When I started lugging my 54 around to shows, I soon decided that it needed casters. When I restore the case on that piano, I won’t want to ruin the original look by reinstalling those casters. Also, with a small shop, I need to be able to move other pianos around easily. Building a dolly out of angle iron was a very easy, straightforward project.
Materials included two five-foot pieces of angle iron, four 2″ casters, 16 1/4″x1 carriage bolts and 16 1/4″ nylon lock nuts. After cutting the angle iron, the unit just bolted together. At first, I planned on installing cross bracing, but after tightening the corners, it was clear this was unnecessary. The 1″ carriage bolts were the smallest I found but they were still too long and obstructed the motion of the caster so I cut them off after tightening everything down.
Some strips of 1-1/4″ foam rubber weather stripping added the finishing touch and made for a (nearly) perfect fit.
I assume this size will fit all of your current (and future) Rhodes? Pretty cool.
It will fit the Seventy Threes. The Fifty Four would fit but it would not be sturdy because the piano wouldn’t sit directly over the wheels. The steel angle iron might flex a little They’re so easy to build that I plan on making another one specifically for the Fifty Four.