I've made lids for a few pianos. I thought I was being pretty ambitious just making a lid at all. But, wow, joining up your own core and hammer veneering on the face sheets. You guys leave me in the dust.
Have you guys ever heard of marine plywood? It comes in 5' x 10' sheets. A variety of face sheets and core stocks. Many types of mahogany and select hardwood, many of which are probably as light as poplar.
Another option. The last time I made a lid I went to a serious cabinetmaking operation (a couple orders of magnitude more serious than my shop) that did architectural millwork. They took some sort of lumber core plywood (something like baltic birch) and bonded on face sheets of my choice. They put it in a giant heated press and used heat setting glue to bond on the face sheets. 5 minutes later I had a piece of custom lumber core plywood with perfectly wrinkle free hardwood faces. I don't remember how much it cost. I'm sure it wasn't cheap, but it was a lot cheaper than a day or two of my time.
Phil Ford
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