Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum How do you gut an upright?

The easy parts are pulling the action and the keys out, unless the keys need to stay in for looks.

First, the tension needs to be taken off all of the strings; they should be quite loose before you proceed, as a matter of fact. You need a tuning lever to do this; a cheapie will do.

Then, cut all of the strings, preferably as close to the tuning pins as you can. Pull all of the cut strings out, then remove the coils from the tuning pins.

How do you gut un upright?

Stick a knife in its belly.

That's the first thing that came to my mind.

Minor quibble. There is no reason to use the tuning pins to take off tension. Just snip the wires one at a time and the tension will come down automatically in increments of about 300 lbs per every 2 wires snipped. (In any case, you should wear gloves and eye protection.)

Get good wire cutters -- ideally with compound leverage. You can use any cutter for one string, but after 210 strings or so, you may be on your way to carpal tunnel syndrome.

Good luck and have fun!

The above references to hand and eye protection is why I take the tension off before snipping. I also think it's a safe idea for the novice piano dismantler ("Hey Keith, I followed your advice. While I was cutting, my kid walked in the garage, and a flying string took out her eye.").

Just sayin'...

How do you gut un upright?

Stick a knife in its belly.

That's the first thing that came to my mind.

Mine, too. What's that saying about great minds . . ..??

The easy parts are pulling the action and the keys out, unless the keys need to stay in for looks.

To reduce weight, you want to remove the cast-iron plate, and that takes some doing.

First, the tension needs to be taken off all of the strings; they should be quite loose before you proceed, as a matter of fact. You need a tuning lever to do this; a cheapie will do.

Then, cut all of the strings, preferably as close to the tuning pins as you can. Pull all of the cut strings out, then remove the coils from the tuning pins.

Next, you probably want to remove all of the tuning pins prior to pulling the plate. The best way is to get a tuning pin socket that can be chucked into a drill motor and run them out that way; be prepared to see a little wood smoke in the process.

To remove the plate, the easiest way would be by removing the key bed first; otherwise you have to lift it them move it laterally (very difficult) to clear the key bed. With the key bed removed and the piano on its back, you can use an engine hoist or a chain fall, with straps, to lift the plate out, once it's completely unbolted from the frame. You now have a huge piece of scrap iron, or artsy wall hanging for your music room...

Reinstall the key bed, slap the case pieces back on, and you now have a PSO piano prop.

If it's an old, full-size upright, the shell will weigh ~300 pounds, I'd guess.

At least, this is how I'd do it...

One of the most important procedures has been neglected. After the piano is gutted, the chain hoist is very helpful to hang the piano from its pedals and attached to a tall tree, to let all of the tone drain out.