Piano Recycling

http://usera.ImageCave.com/bridgebee...187032000.jpeg
There is a vast amount of pianos that are unwanted now a days. They are very expensive to repair, tune and costly to move. With all the electronic pianos on the market and the features they offer who wants to bother with grandma's old Baldwin.

I don't think there is enough money to be made to offer "free piano recycling" but if you want to scrap a few to get a feel for the market perhaps charging $200.00 to pick up and $50.00 for drop off recycling might be worth the effort.

Here is a newer Kimball piano we just disassembled, it had one solid piece of oak at the top and the rest was laminated pressed wood. Most of the older pianos have some solid woods like walnut and others have more valuable woods including extinct species but most consist of laminates. The sound board is the best for recycling but is often the most difficult to reclaim. The ivory keys do sell on eBay and the older piano benches can bring up to $150.00 plus.
http://usera.ImageCave.com/bridgebee...186937000.jpeg
http://usera.ImageCave.com/bridgebee...186876000.jpeg
http://usera.ImageCave.com/bridgebee...186536000.jpeg

I don't know of anyone that would pay $200 to get rid of a piano when they can list it on craigslist for free and it'll be gone in a day or so.

Are piano strings bronze? Might be a tiny bit of cash there, the soundboard is usually quite heavy, might go for steel. They look brass but I dont think they are. Maybe you can chop the crappy wood for fire wood to sell! lol I think the foot pedals are solid brass though too.

I think enough people would actually pay to get rid of a piano in a pinch, I have charged $280 for removals of pianos. I have probably done at least 20 of them at that price over the last few years. (usually for real estate agents) You can't always depend of free pickup ads.

I'd have to agree with Idaho scrapper on one level, but people on Craigslist can be so flaky that it might be worth it to pay someone to haul it away. I know that there are times when I'd rather just lug my stuff to the thrift store than deal with CL.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Richard

Are piano strings bronze? Might be a tiny bit of cash there, the soundboard is usually quite heavy, might go for steel. They look brass but I dont think they are. Maybe you can chop the crappy wood for fire wood to sell! lol I think the foot pedals are solid brass though too.

---

The strings are steel core, and are wound in bronze (usually) and sometimes nickel, so they should at least get sold for contaminated. As for the foot pedals, every one is different; some are brass, some are not.

The harp is usually cast iron. Are the strings solid nickel? Nickel is over $11 lb., that would make them worth figuring out how to unwind from the steel core.

Someone dumped just the sound board part of the piano around my area so the next day I went with a hammer and a friend and simply took the frame and left the wood and the wires there! Got me some heavy steel. I will post a picture soon :D

A little off the topic of scrapping one, but an uncle of mine made a mini bar out of one with seating, lights, a cooler, and shelves for booze. I've never seen it, but it sounds pretty cool.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Scrap man

A little off the topic of scrapping one, but an uncle of mine made a mini bar out of one with seating, lights, a cooler, and shelves for booze. I've never seen it, but it sounds pretty cool.

---

Might not be scrappin a piano, but that is def recycling one! Cool idea.

Update on my above post about finding a dumped one.

I just took the steel core :D

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/...y/100_0751.jpg

Not so good image but you can kinda see it :)

I had an antique one that had lead cores to weight the keys on the mechanics that connected to the things that pick the strings. they were about 3/8" in diameter and 3/8" long. cant recall how long it took to take them out but seemed worthwhile at the time.

Ideas on what to do with an old worthless piano. Ways to recycle your old piano. Thanks for sharing about it everyone.

I scrapped over 200 at one time....Good money but be prepared tp haul all that wood away.....Have fun lots of work but payday is ok

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by aalina

Ideas on what to do with an old worthless piano. Ways to recycle your old piano. Thanks for sharing about it everyone.

---

Seems to me this particular thread has a few ideas. Did ya read it? A few more within the forum. Friendly suggestion: Introduction, then READ, READ , READ........

Depending on the piano, there is a extremely heavy steel plate in it.

When I helped a client of mine move, he busted his piano to a billion pieces. Gave me the metal slab that came out of it. That SOB was heavy!

I would estimate atleast 350 to 400 if not more.

I just got one and WOW...the harp is cast iron....it weigh about 500 putting it with the 3 other ones hoping for good load ..hardest thing is getting the cast off the string pins just having a big fire ...just remember to be safe

alot of work

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by IdahoScrapper

I don't know of anyone that would pay $200 to get rid of a piano when they can list it on craigslist for free and it'll be gone in a day or so.

---

Well, I do. I haul several pianos per month, charging $200 for garage pickup, and $350 if they're in the basement. It's all in how you present the services. Also, in my experience most people offering free pianos sit on them for months.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BurlyGuys

Well, I do. I haul several pianos per month, charging $200 for garage pickup, and $350 if they're in the basement. It's all in how you present the services. Also, in my experience most people offering free pianos sit on them for months.

---

I agree with burly. You might be able to get rid of a good working one that is in tune but, if you have a piano that is in bad shape and out of tune $200 should be the going rate to haul it away. Most of the time the pianos for free just need to get hauled to the dump. I found a silver dime in an older upright piano one time.

dont hate the bot. :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by skylinejack

Seems to me this particular thread has a few ideas. Did ya read it? A few more within the forum. Friendly suggestion: Introduction, then READ, READ , READ........

---

check the electronic contactors value

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BurlyGuys

Well, I do. I haul several pianos per month, charging $200 for garage pickup, and $350 if they're in the basement. It's all in how you present the services. Also, in my experience most people offering free pianos sit on them for months.

---

Burly even plays piano while he's moving pianos, too... http://imageshack.us/a/img7/4236/6bc.gif


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHDSWAoHZ5M

I'm recycling one now I'll let you know how it goes... Copper jacketed steel wires cast iron back brass foot pedals aluminum brackets and I cast the lead into ingots

The copper/steel type of piano wires is fairly easy to separate the copper with just a little bit effort. Maybe something you might want to do when it's to cold to do anything else this winter. Just cut the wires to 12 to 14 inches (easy to handle & store). Then when your ready to harvest the copper: 1. put one end of the cut wire into a cordless drill motor (right angle drill motors work best). 2. clamp a "vice grip needle nose pliers to the other end. 3. run your drill motor slowly and in reverse, simply unwind the copper wire off the steel wire. The old upright piano I did had 5 to 6 pounds of #2 copper. I did all of mine in just over a hour. $1.85 for #2 copper is better than $0.10 a pound for copper bearing steel.

Rereading this thread got me curious on the piano bar...

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...14c04f524a.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...83897f2833.jpg

http://www.landscapesla.com/pix/hgtv...2404/os_13.jpg

They even get re-purposed to be shelving!
http://i.imgur.com/tQkXtM1.jpg

Next time someone asks you what good an old piano is...you can show them this thread.

Your welcome.

Sirscrapalot - Part of the secret of a success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside. - Mark Twain

I have only did the one piano breakdown, I didn't ever think I would do one as it would be the last thing thrown or dumped in next to one of our dumpsters. I have seen just about anything and everything that one could put in or near my dumpsters. The best, the trash I like the most is when people throw money away, especially the green paper kind, as I just process that straight into my wallet (people I really don't mind throwing your money in my dumpsters). The worse, the thing that should never get tossed in a dumpster (especially my dumpsters if I catch you!), is dead dogs (that's not a good way to bury your pets).

So far no pianos have been dumped, if that happens I know how to do one anyway. As I have read all the threads about how to scrap one here at SMF (thank you members). A little over a year ago I was at my friends appliance shop, my friend has been giving me his scrap metal for awhile (mostly steel as he sells scrap too). At his shop I notice a old upright piano, Charlie says almost immediately "Do you want it? I'll deliver it free". I immediately say "No, the only music I play is the stereo, thanks anyway". Latter that night I started researching "old pianos", as I did take sometime to record the maker and serial number of his very old looking piano. The next morning I called my friend to say "Charlie I want your piano".

Well it wasn't what I thought it might turn out to be. So I scrapped it, by far the hardest thing I have scrapped. Making me determined to use every part of that old piano. The easiest was all of the coins that old upright had been saving for me (especially liked the silver nickel). I wanted to make a storage cabinet out of the wood and keys, to store my large LP record collection. I was over ruled by the lady that controls my house. She thinks I should throw those old LP's out with next weeks trash (not going to happen). I was obviously not going to be able to build a nice storage cabinet to center piece my vast music collection in the play room. I have used almost all of the wood for other projects and the only other part that remains is the old cast iron harp. Still trying to think how to re-purpose that into another useful item!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Recycler

I'd have to agree with Idaho scrapper on one level, but people on Craigslist can be so flaky that it might be worth it to pay someone to haul it away. I know that there are times when I'd rather just lug my stuff to the thrift store than deal with CL.

---

w4m on Cl makes you feel your an old horse being checked over before slaughter.

Sorry for re-living this thread...

I go to auctions regularly and sees pianos for free or $1. At most times, nobody want them even for free. In my case, I just want one for the wire, but hate to dismantle the piano myself.

If you recently scrap a piano, maybe we can do a deal on the wire (?). I have a project in mind for my upcoming junk shows. Thanks.

I think the wood could valuable depending of the type?

Keep an eye out for the older '80s electric Kimball organs. Some of them may have a surprise inside. Last summer I found a busted up one on the curbside. First gold chip I found on a brown board. Also got a nice paper cone 12" subwoofer out of it, huge magnet. Also had a re-verb device that I sold.

The one I found was close to this one

http://i.imgur.com/YOg7I0h.jpg?1

This is the chip i got out of it, added it to my collection

http://i.imgur.com/6vYiGdB.jpg?1

Anybody scrapping a piano recently? If so, please let me know. I want to start a project with piano wire.