I scrapped my first piano the other day. A lot of work for $37. 150lbs cast iron, 7lbs brass and 6lbs of contaminated copper. I think I'm going to pass the next time one is offered to me. Anybody scrapping pianos regularly?
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I scrapped my first piano the other day. A lot of work for $37. 150lbs cast iron, 7lbs brass and 6lbs of contaminated copper. I think I'm going to pass the next time one is offered to me. Anybody scrapping pianos regularly?
I've done one and had about the same results metal wise but...Did sell the keys for $20 and made some vintage shelves the banked another $60.
sometimes the keys , pedals, and wood will bring good money on ebay..i have also resold some of the cast iron peg boards from the inside for good money, if they are ornate people will buy them
There are two free ones on CL here, but I can't lift these things, so I have to pass.
My solution is still charging for removal, but then that's just me.
I wish I was a burly guy...
Charging a premium. You are doing them a favor, if they want it removed.
I just charge my dump fee to haul and get the cast and brass then trash the rest. End of story. I do several each year. None in over a year lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by thatewasteguy
I was going to refer to some earlier posts, but you made the point once again Burly. Some need to learn the lesson, and it's a worthwhile one, on their own. Been there, tried that, hearing Burly loud and clear!Quote:
Originally Posted by BurlyGuys
Was it a smaller, newer piano? I know we scrapped out one a year or so ago. Was from the early 1900s (If i remember correctly) and brought some good money. Weighed about 800 pounds. Other than the cast iron inside, the wood brought decent money and the keys were real ivory which brought even better money. I believe we made $200 altogether
I do metal paper electronic computers for free as the Metallic maniac.
A piano is wood. Can not drop at a yard. Moving and loading by myself is not easy. The demo.process takes time. A 4 hr or more job. It's not metal it's wood. ..
Actually, the moving and loading of a piano by one person is a fairly easy endeavor (without stairs being involved, of course), the money is in the wood if you are going to deconstruct a piano. An average upright might yield 200 lbs of dirty cast iron, but if you look into selling the wood to a network of luthiers, you can hit twenty times that value in selling the wood. Somewhat time intensive, I do not spend my time on items like this any longer as I have higher profit-margin items that I deal with regularly.
Reopened.
Ya it didn't have all of its keys. They were some ****ty particle board or something. Didn't even think to try and sell the wood. It was obvious that it had been repaired and refurbished a couple of times. The markings on the cast were 1872. I didn't see the resale aspect, blinded looking for brass.
Nah it was plenty old. super heavy. I work for a moving company and come across people ditching them all the time.
The keys I sold were plastic not ivory...people use them for craft/art projects...As I said I only have done one and don't really care to do another unless I was really bored.
Now I wanna try one just for fun. They come in spurts around here on Craigslist. I may try and see if they reeeeaaally want it gone by mentioning a fee for removal.
Mudlight, pls let us know how the fee thing goes.
I do a couple of pianos a month, and not for cheap. Finally came up with some standardized pricing for removal of uprights. Barring any unforeseen complications, I charge by location. $200 for outside on ground level or in a garage, $250 for ground floor, and $350 for basement. They WILL pay it guys!
I first did them free . Then my dump fee 65. My Tacoma . Now 100 in my f 150 .Quote:
Originally Posted by BurlyGuys
I never met a light piano. Plastic maybe ? Nope