Can my dad and I safely dismantle an upright?

[ranniks]

So its upstairs, and while I appreciate my acoustic piano for all the practise I've done it, it's time for it to go.

There are a few options I've opted, but I want to delve into a cost free one; dismantling.

The only thing I can think of as dangerous are the strings. How do I go about this?

https://milowilson.blogspot.nl/2011/08/how-to-gut-piano-lifelong-dream-of-mine.html

This blog says that you can remove the strain on the strings by using a piano wrench to twist the bolts/hinges of the strings. Afterwards the blog says they just used a pair of pliers. Is this doable for me as well?

My main questions:

1: Can I safely remove the strings by using a piano tool to loosen the strings?

2: What else should I be worried about in terms of safety (e.g. not getting hurt)?

3: My piano weighs 160-200 kilograms, if I remove everything, the part which will weigh the most will be the iron cast, how heavy will this be? 100kg?

The plan is to dismantle the piano and piece by piece go down the stairs with the parts so no one gets hurt.

[ranniks]

Another interesting article on this matter:

https://www.balaams-ass.com/piano/17-destr.htm

Once this is done, the harp and the back frame are the only thing left in tact. CAUTION: Get a cushion of some sort in your left hand to hold against the wires as you cut them out of the piano. Put it against the wires, and begin cutting them at the top one by one with diagonal cutters. Do not use an axe as some macho nut may suggest. Wires can fly all over the place and literally blind someone. Do not unscrew the tuning pins to remove the wires. This is a horrible waste of time.

Not unscrewing the tuning pins seems usnafe, why does he say that it is a waste of time? Because it takes so long or because the tension in the strings won't go down?

[hfmadopter]

This seems kind of like having a loving pet you nurtured and loved back and took care of but ah what the heck, I'm done with you and have it euthanized !! For the sake of convenience I'll just destroy it.

[ranniks]

Did you lose interest in your piano ?

Actually, for convenience sake I need to get the acoustic away.

[Bob]

Sell it.  Let the buyer pay for a mover. 

[ranniks]

Sell it.  Let the buyer pay for a mover. 

I'm not sure. I mean, it has 85 keys where usual students/pianists require 88 keys. I've thought of this, but I'd rather dismantle the thing and be done with it.

Could you answer my questions? It would be greatly appreciated.

[quantum]

Sell it.  You will get some cash.  It's not only piano students that want pianos.  Think restaurants, performance spaces, schools, churches, designers.  Someone may even want the piano as piano shaped object for display. 

IMO dismantling a piano should be reserved for junk instruments that have no reasonable future potential to be used as an instrument or to be repaired within reasonable playable condition. 

[iansinclair]

My main questions:

1: Can I safely remove the strings by using a piano tool to loosen the strings?

2: What else should I be worried about in terms of safety (e.g. not getting hurt)?

3: My piano weighs 160-200 kilograms, if I remove everything, the part which will weigh the most will be the iron cast, how heavy will this be? 100kg?

The plan is to dismantle the piano and piece by piece go down the stairs with the parts so no one gets hurt.

I totally agree with the folks who say to advertise and give it away.  Unless you are well and truly out in the boonies, there will be someone who has very little money but desperately wants a piano and has four strong friends who can and will help move it.  I've been there, and done just that and was very very grateful to have the piano.

However, if you are simply bound and determined to destroy it, in answer to your specific questions.
1.  Don't think of unwinding the strings.  It takes forever.  Get a good -- really good -- wire cutter which can handle steel piano wire and cut them, one by one.  The pillow idea is excellent as a shield.  Do it; they do fly when they are cut.  You can start at the top and go down as suggested, but I would be very much inclined to take the strings off by fifths, to avoid putting uneven strain on the harp.
2.  Not much else to worry about in the dismantling part of the job -- until you get to the point of trying to take the frame out of the wood.  It's heavy; stabilise it in some way or it will fall on you and do evil things to your body.
3.  It will weigh at least 100 kilos -- maybe more.  There's almost no weight to speak of in the rest of the instrument.  It is also clumsy and, being cast, it can and will break if you drop it.  If that happens, pieces will fly and hurt someone -- so don't drop it.  You must carry it down the stairs.

Which last being said, I go back to where I started: find two or three sturdy lads -- there must be a few around somewhere -- and get them to help you get it down the stairs INTACT.  Then give it away.

[outin]

Actually, for convenience sake I need to get the acoustic away.

Sorry for the off topic, but please dont'! 

Your piano sounds great and you'll never get the same experience on playing if practising on a digital only. Just have both like most of us

[Bob]

I totally agree with the folks who say to advertise and give it away.  

If it's free, it's worthless, and no one will want it.  So make it $100.  Or $200.  Let them haggle you down a little.  

I'd vote for keeping the piano in tact though.

Otherwise, just start taking it apart.  I would think the strings loosen up if you unwind the pins.  How much are all the strings really going to weigh though?

[Bob]

If the frame will break if you drop it... What happens if you hit with a sledgehammer?  In a polite, piano-friendly manner.

[ranniks]

I totally agree with the folks who say to advertise and give it away.  Unless you are well and truly out in the boonies, there will be someone who has very little money but desperately wants a piano and has four strong friends who can and will help move it.  I've been there, and done just that and was very very grateful to have the piano.

However, if you are simply bound and determined to destroy it, in answer to your specific questions.
1.  Don't think of unwinding the strings.  It takes forever.  Get a good -- really good -- wire cutter which can handle steel piano wire and cut them, one by one.  The pillow idea is excellent as a shield.  Do it; they do fly when they are cut.  You can start at the top and go down as suggested, but I would be very much inclined to take the strings off by fifths, to avoid putting uneven strain on the harp.
2.  Not much else to worry about in the dismantling part of the job -- until you get to the point of trying to take the frame out of the wood.  It's heavy; stabilise it in some way or it will fall on you and do evil things to your body.
3.  It will weigh at least 100 kilos -- maybe more.  There's almost no weight to speak of in the rest of the instrument.  It is also clumsy and, being cast, it can and will break if you drop it.  If that happens, pieces will fly and hurt someone -- so don't drop it.  You must carry it down the stairs.

Which last being said, I go back to where I started: find two or three sturdy lads -- there must be a few around somewhere -- and get them to help you get it down the stairs INTACT.  Then give it away.

Thank you! Could you perhaps explain to me what is meant by putting pillows on the strings? The acoustic is now standing vertically, does that mean I'll have to put it on its back, remove the keys/front and then put pillows on the strings? Putting it horizontally sounds more dangerous. I was thinking of only removing a bit of the top of the piano and clipping the strings from there. Then when the strings will break the only thing it will hit will be the inside of the piano itself. I could put some pillows in the piano for extra impact.

What do you think?

Sorry for the off topic, but please dont'! 

Your piano sounds great and you'll never get the same experience on playing if practising on a digital only. Just have both like most of us

Outin, you're changing my mind! Having both would be ideal.

I can pay movers 170 dollars to get it down safely (like I did when they moved it upwards). Because my stairs is a rather tricky one, I want only them to do it. But last time when they came with 3 men, it seemed that they had a little bit of trouble. I don't want to have it on me that someone got hurt. What must go up must go down, but I thought I read somewhere that moving a piano down the stairs will take more effort. Again, I don't want it on me that a mover gets hurt because of it.

I would want to ask them to get a fourth person, but I don't want to sound impolite.

[hfmadopter]

To me destroying the piano is much like euthanizing your dog simply because you had enough of it and its convenient.

The movers are paid to know what they are doing and employed by people who should be training them to do so. Its not on you, its on their employer to have them trained and to determine how many workers are required.

[Bob]

What do you think?

I think wounded pianos can be dangerous.

[timothy42b]

The classified ads are full of junk pianos, cheap and free.  You are unlikely to compete with others who don't have it up tricky stairs unless yours is really special, and if it were you would keep it.

Do you really want amateurs moving it down your stairs, who may damage your house and not be insured, or who may injure themselves and sue you?

I like your idea.  Personally I would borrow a tuning hammer (maybe a socket wrench of the right size would work - they aren't recommended because pins are tapered and you'll round them, but in this case you don't care) and back off the tension on the strings.  It may not be necessary but it wouldn't take long and would give you piece of mind.  Then I'd cut them and start disassembling.  I'll have to look at an image of an upright plate.  I think if I couldn't lift it easily, I'd set it on an old tire and break it with a big hammer (gloves and safety glasses).

I would suggest carefully taking out the action without damage.  You might be able to make a silent practice keyboard out of half of it.  

[indianajo]

Wear safety glasses with side shields.
While cutting wires, wear a high collar of thick polyester.  A cut jugular artery can ruin your day. You may need to sew up something special to cover the vulnerable part of your neck. use the pillow or thick quilt over the strings as said previously to keep them from flying out. Bass strings may throw loops of brass.   
There was an 85 key piano at Salvation Army resale, that had the correct sound for Honky Tonk (Joplin, Waller).  There are only two pieces I play that use the top three notes, and neither is honky tonk.  It was $75.  The only open bed truck for rent I could afford was out for two weeks.  (I have limbs I need to cut overhanging 400 m of driveway)  SA cut the price to $25, then tipped it in the dumpster.  So don't feel too guilty. 

[richard black]

Loosen the tuning pins with a tuning wrench or a socket wrench or, frankly, a good quality open-ended spanner of the right size, and take the strings off. Then you can dismantle everything else. I  doubt any single component will weigh much more than 50kg on an old upright. It will be interesting seeing how it all fitted together. Note that you will need some humungous screwdriver bits (in a socket wrench or impact wrench) to get the metal frame off the wooden parts.

[pianoplunker]

So its upstairs, and while I appreciate my acoustic piano for all the practise I've done it, it's time for it to go.

There are a few options I've opted, but I want to delve into a cost free one; dismantling.

The only thing I can think of as dangerous are the strings. How do I go about this?

https://milowilson.blogspot.nl/2011/08/how-to-gut-piano-lifelong-dream-of-mine.html

This blog says that you can remove the strain on the strings by using a piano wrench to twist the bolts/hinges of the strings. Afterwards the blog says they just used a pair of pliers. Is this doable for me as well?

My main questions:

1: Can I safely remove the strings by using a piano tool to loosen the strings?

2: What else should I be worried about in terms of safety (e.g. not getting hurt)?

3: My piano weighs 160-200 kilograms, if I remove everything, the part which will weigh the most will be the iron cast, how heavy will this be? 100kg?

The plan is to dismantle the piano and piece by piece go down the stairs with the parts so no one gets hurt.

Youve found a blog. Just go with it, be brave

[Bob]

Poor piano. 


Yes, if you can salvage a silent keyboard from it, that would be very cool.  Very useful.