Four FREE large square pianos 1850's - 1880's

Four FREE large square pianos 1850's - 1880's · 10-08-2009, 09:43 AM

Hello All;

I have just acquired 2 FREE early square pianos from the 1820's from the Warner Brothers Studios Warehouse in Burbank, CA. They are being picked up this afternoon, and will be here in 3 to 4 weeks. You can see the other post I made about these this morning in the "other" forum, since I didn't know where to put it.

They are GIVING away 7 of these, and only 3 are gone that I know of, my 2, and another one going to PA. They were all props in Warner Brothers movies at some time in the past, but they won't say which movies they were in. The remaining 4 are destined for the landfill in Burbank, CA, unless they can be rescued. I'd take them all if I could afford the transportation costs as I hate to see anything 120 to 150 years old be trashed. If I knew how to post a photo of these, I would. Let me know how to do that, and I'll add a photo.

Anyone interested in the other 4? They are big and heavy, from the 1850's to the 1870's or 80's I'd guess. I have a friend who is a piano dealer, and through him was able to get the ones I picked out to this part of the country for $515 each, and I can suggest to you how to go about this if any of you are interested. If you go through a piano dealer and the hauling companies they use, you might be able to get them here for about the same amount of money. Weight doesn't matter, it appears, just size.

There is a time limit on these, so if anyone is interested, please let me know as soon as possible, and I will call the parties involved, and let them know of your interest, and will then pass on the contact information to you.

Maybe I can help rescue the other four, with your help.

Thanks,

John

ErnieM · 10-08-2009, 10:55 AM

I think I posted a while back on this subject, but it's worth repeating. If anyone takes one of these pianos please Don't Cut The Strings Off. Doing so can be very dangerous. A piano is under thousands of pounds of tension. Cutting the strings off can cause the plate to crack with terrible consequences to you. If you'd like to use this piano for a bar, storage case, etc. send me a PM and I'll tell you how to safely remove the strings. The early models had no plate but cutting off the strings is still hazardous.

Ernie

Glennbear · 10-08-2009, 11:06 AM

I am slated to make a journey to San Francisco to pick up a car from my daughter at some point. I wonder how a 1997 Dodge Stratus would handle on a cross country journey with an upright piano strapped to the roof...................

Jeff Mills · 10-08-2009, 06:13 PM

Originally Posted by Glennbear

I am slated to make a journey to San Francisco to pick up a car from my daughter at some point. I wonder how a 1997 Dodge Stratus would handle on a cross country journey with an upright piano strapped to the roof...................

When are you going? I need to get three tables to camp pendleton, about 1/2 way between san francisco and san diego

Jeff Mills · 10-08-2009, 06:17 PM

Originally Posted by ErnieM

I think I posted a while back on this subject, but it's worth repeating. If anyone takes one of these pianos please Don't Cut The Strings Off. Doing so can be very dangerous. A piano is under thousands of pounds of tension. Cutting the strings off can cause the plate to crack with terrible consequences to you. If you'd like to use this piano for a bar, storage case, etc. send me a PM and I'll tell you how to safely remove the strings. The early models had no plate but cutting off the strings is still hazardous.

Ernie

So what can happen? What have you seen or heard happening?

ErnieM · 10-08-2009, 08:32 PM

Jeff,

A piano's strings combine to exert anywhere from 16 to 25 tons of tension. Most folks who attempt cutting the strings off start at one end of the piano and work their way up or down to the other end. This sudden elimination of tension on a portion of the plate can cause the plate to crack. In severe cases, the plate can break causing the piano to literally implode. This implosion was more common in pianos made before the 1850's as these pianos had no cast iron plate at all. It's not the cutting of the wires that can potentially cause a problem - it is the order that the strings are cut off. To unstring a piano it is much safer to remove (or cut off) every sixth string or so. Then go back to the starting point and cut off every fifth string all the way up to the top note. Then every 4th string etc. This will reduce the tension gradually and evenly and eliminate (just about) the possibility of cracking the plate.

Another factor is the quality of the casting. Piano plates are cast from pig iron and they shrink during the cooling process. Sometimes, internal flaws exist that cause a plate to have a weak section. There is no way to ascertain the quality of the casting in a particular piano so following a string removal sequence similar to what I have described is the safest way to approach the unstringing.

To be sure, broken plates are very rare. I spent 35 years as a piano tech and have seen two pianos with broken plates. Rare as this problem might be, you don't want to be standing in front of the one piano in a thousand whose plate breaks. Better safe than sorry.

Hope this helps.

Ernie

DIYGUY · 10-09-2009, 09:57 AM

Way back in 1973 I was living in Burlington, Vt. I had some next door neighbors who were college students at St. Michael's. They were way cute and I had a strong desire to get to know them better.

They had an old upright piano that they wanted gone so I offered to help them with it.

I took it apart piece by piece. Mostly it was scewed and/or bolted together with very little in the way of glued up sections. When I got it down to the strings, frame and soundboard I had to decide what was the best way to continue. I cut the strings out. I do not recall the sequence. But in the end I had a frame and the pinblock and soundboard. The soundboard had numerous cracks in it (not from my disassembly). When all was in pieces and hauled away we had this beautiful cast iron frame that the young ladies liked so much they strung colored yarn through it and turned it into an objet, as they say.

Earlier that year I bought a similar upright from a family who wanted theirs gone. Paid $10 for it sight unseen. I sent a piano tech over to evaluate it. They moved it to my place, took out the action and the keys back to their shop where they rebuilt the former and recovered the latter. I stripped it of about 6 coats of paint and refinished it. The piano tech brought back the action, installed the keys, tuned it and regulated it. The price? I want to weep - $100. That was for EVERYTHING. The eval, the move, the rebuilding, tuning, regulation, et al. They even came back after six weeks and tweaked a few minor things for me. That was about a weeks pay for me then, to put things in some context. I sold it 3 years later for $600 and bought myself a Yamaha studio console. My daughter and I play it still - she is way better than I am or ever was.

Anyway I just have to say it - ain't pianos grand??

Glennbear · 10-09-2009, 10:08 AM

Originally Posted by Jeff Mills

When are you going? I need to get three tables to camp pendleton, about 1/2 way between san francisco and san diego

Sorry Jeff, when the time comes I will be flying to the west coast and driving back. I do not think that 3 tables would qualify as carry on luggage.

Jeff Mills · 10-09-2009, 12:24 PM

Dang it was worth a try - would have been the longest pony express ever

Travis Porter · 10-09-2009, 12:54 PM

How big are these pianos roughly???

Ragtimeman · 10-09-2009, 01:41 PM

Look at this web site, and click on the top right hand photo for a Chickering square grand from around 1880:

http://www.terracehill.org/news/news/past/story_60.html

They are about 32" wide, 72" long, and weigh about 500 lbs because of the iron plate inside. I always thought the cases were very ornate, and could be used by someone for something. Maybe I was wrong.

After taking the 3 smaller ones, which were picked up yesterday, the ones made from the 1820's to the 1840's, without iron plates, the other four had no takers. I suspect they will be taken to the landfill today, unless I call them soon.

What a waste.

John