I have a millstone . Its an old piano. Iron frame 1920's upright. Good working order and tuned every six months. The problem is I don't want it. I cant play and never use it. Its in the way. The trouble is no one else seems to want it either. I have tried giving it away via the adds in the paper. I have tried asking a house clearance to come and move it and even said I would pay costs. No one will even come and take it to the tip for me.
How do you get rid of a piano like this?
Have you tried freecycle? Around here the local authority will collect or recommend others. Either way it costs.
In message , endymion writes
well, from experience - don't try breaking it up, you might get rid of the wood, but you'll end up with a frame which is very difficult to do anything with at all
getting rid of it? - no answer
Local school, village hall, community centre, pub, old peoples' home, ...
If you said which town you're in/near, someone here might think of a suitable local home for it.
I live in SE Cornwall. Callington/ Liskeard area. Striking distance from Plymouth
When I was in the Scouts many years ago we used to get them given to us for jumble sales - inevitably they didn't sell so we had piano smashing competitions - to see which team could post the piano through a 1foot square hole (IIRC). The frames would break with a sledge hammer. The piano wire was a pest.
Stick it on EBay with no reserve. If it's in tune and doesn't need anything spent on it, I'm sure it'll be snapped up by someone with kids going through the grades
Smashing a piano can be quite dangerous without making it safe first (releasing the tension on the strings). There's around 25 tons force across the frame, and you don't want that to let go in one bang by breaking the frame. Even individual wires breaking can cause nasty injuries.
Its in working order. I spent 300+ quid on it a couple of years ago to have the striking mechanism overhauled so it should last 20 years of good play now. I had intended to learn to play but I wont so its pointless keeping it. I have had it 20 years and never touched it. It just sits there taking up space.
Pianos are worth nothing when you're trying to get rid of them, but cost a bomb if you're looking to buy one :-)
Teachers are always on the lookout for uprights for their pupils. Ring a few. £300 is cheap for a working piano.
I broke one up as a teenager and there might be 25 tons of force but it was not that dramatic when hit with a sedge hammer, 25 tons of force with elastic bungy rope might be a different kettle of fish, and after watching mythbusters snapping 1/4 steel wire even that was not that dangerous but it might be as well to loosen the strings first
I will give it away of I can find a taker. I have put it on Plymouth freecycle now but I don't know how it works really. The message hasn't appeared there yet.
In message , Andrew Gabriel writes
The reality of the situation is that you just end up with a mass of cast iron and wire when you smash it up. I've "dismantled" several and the actual elastic distention of the strings is so small that the world as we know it doesn't end when you crack it
The only injury I ever sustained was when I put a (1/2" dia) coach screw right through my foot because I was wearing flip flops instead of proper foot protection (naughty boy!)
They don't (on the whole)
Is anything you posted above from actual first hand experience ?
But not Leeds ... sadly!
Mary
>
all 200 of them ?
they monitor posts on free cycle when you start out to make sure they are appropriate for free cycling, IE no wanted posts for 42" plasmas top of the range laptops or offers baby rabbits it will appear once they have reviewed your post
not counted them, that's was just my get out of jail free card :-)
EBay is the way to go, even if you're giving it away (which would be silly in my view)
How tedious
88 * 3 - bass strings , round off to the nearest sensible number
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