People,

Need help- have a piano outside- YES, they kept it OUTSIDE!!!!!

It is sooo dilapidated, Im afraid to even give it away for free, as someone might even get hurt taking it down 2 flights of stairs! I figure, I can take an ax, chop up the wood (I can do this easily- I saw similar technique used by Jack Nicholson in "The Shining"). Then, the hard part- cut the harp in 3 pieces, so it is manageable.

Big question: easiest way to cut up the harp, and is it worth any $ for a recycling place to pick it up?

Thanks!

Take the action and keyboard out, remove the lid, front and back - that's a bit of the weight gone.

But the strings need to be treated with respect. I had a "friend" decided that he'd just snip them at each end. WRONG - the first one snapped back and attacked him. Hopefully a technician will chime in with the right way to remove strings.

Sometimes, the folks who pick up scrap metal will pick up a piano for free for the metal in the harp. That is how I got rid of an old upright that was beyond repair.

And, you are right, acoustic pianos do not last long outside in the elements...

Rick

I just took in 800 lbs of cast iron from plates and other steel parts.
I had 56 lbs of bass string.
52 lbs of brass.

I got $181.00 for all that. Half of that was for the brass.

That was the metal from 3 uprights and some other stuff around the shop.

Big Thanks, people. Good tip on not cutting strings! Whew. Now, Rod, should I try calling a scrap yard and describe what I have for them? Im in Los angeles.....Is there a real demand for cast iron scrap? Not sure , but I imagine theres got to be nickel on those pins too....

There might be some nickel plating on the case hardware, but not enough to be worth stripping off.

Good point, bd. so, think that scrap iron has to worth something to a scrap collector, then? otherwise, Im stuck, I suppose.....

You will not get rich selling scrap iron these days.

As a piano technician, the most fun I ever had was smashing a couple of old uprights that were totally shot, completely apart with a sledge hammer!!!! Oh man what fun that was!!!!! In my younger years, of course... Instead of fixing them, smash them. Woo hooooo!!

Not sure if you got where In coming from, but Im not wanting to get rich, or even to get paid a dollar- I wish to have it taken away as an exchenge for the scrap value a scrap yard might see in it,thats all. The point of me asking was IF its worth something to one of those guys, I have hope that they wil take it from me foe NO charge, and simultaneously theyd get scrap enough to pay for their gas and some $ left over to fill their gas tank.

If its NOT worth anything, then I appreciat that- just want to be aware of it in case I have to pay to have it taken away, which I would no problem. I understand those people have to make a few $ on a haul......

Unfortunately a scrapper will not take it. The metal might be worth $40.00 to $50.00 a piano.
To get all that metal it may take 4-5 hours plus the move and time at the metal yard.

I charge people to recycle their pianos. Some people think it is important to keep all this stuff out of the land fill.

Great idea!

Norbert

All that HIGH QUALITY steel wires worth only $50? Most sales people talk as if the componenets in a piano are worth a great deal. Is it just meaningless marketing?

Piano wire is cheap. Bass string cost $$$$ due to labor to make them.
When a metal scrapper is purchasing metal they are sending it to distant
shores to be melted and repurposed into ????

This video was only taken with a phone, so it isn't the best of quality. However, it shows the unfortunate reality of what we must do with some pianos.

We take 2-3 to the landfill monthly, and have done so for years.

What you can't see in the video, and what is vitally important is this: make sure you keep your wrists loose. Proper technique is everything.

On reselling, I doubt you'd get much for scrap.. not enough to have it picked up anyway. When I was consulting in the business, scrap metal went for around $0.09/lbs. Even if you have 500 pounds of iron in there, that's only $45 worth of iron. So, I doubt you'd get someone to pick it up, but then, I honestly could be wrong. Might be worth a call or two to local scrap yards?

Please tell me that was a Kimball....