Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by StarGeezers on September 14, 2009 at 1:02am

The old ivory keys might make nice fret markers for a CBG... sliced into strips and glued into slots ... probably enough to do a gazillion CBGs ...

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Permalink Reply by L.J. on September 14, 2009 at 2:58am

Keys may be worth money to piano restoreres.I dont throw anything away without ripping everything apart and seeing what i got. sometimes I keep stuff just incase I have a neded for it later. The things I toss I always need within a couple months for something. Old wood is golden to guitar builders.The hammers may provive nice bracing materials/and dowels.

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Permalink Reply by Roosterman on September 14, 2009 at 4:43am

Not sure about over there, but over here upright pianos are totally worthless unless they are really top end. Too big, too heavy and not worth enough to bother moving.... hence I buried mine in my garden (yup, theres a pic on my page).
So from that point of view, I would think well used parts are of very limited value too... except to a CBG builder!
I took the black keys off mine and use them for bridges and nuts, the brass candle holders are now diddly bridges, and if it was in better condition, Id have taken the tuners too! Those long piano hinges come in useful as well.
On the wood front, theres probably a good lump of spruce or similair in there...
Enjoy your destruction and recreations!

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Morgan on September 14, 2009 at 6:35am

The wood in the back is normally hard rock maple and it make great necks. One of the hardest woods you can get. I would take it apart and keep all I could. It might take you some time but you will get a tun of stuff to use I know. I help a friend do this same thing and he makes banjos and he was like he found gold when he got a old piano.

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Permalink Reply by Andy Estabrooks on September 14, 2009 at 11:42am

Ivory makes great plectrums!

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Permalink Reply by Skeesix on September 15, 2009 at 12:20am

I used to work for a piano rebuilding shop. We mostly had grands, but sometimes uprights. I agree with taking it apart and keeping the whole thing if you have the space for it.

The frame would have some great hardwoods for necks. Probably maple with a pretty veneer laminated on top, unless it's painted black.

The soundboard is quartersawn spruce, which would make great soundboards. It has spruce braces on it, which could be used for braces or reinforcements for the box.

The white keys have thin slices of ivory if the piano is old enough. You could laminate that to a greater thickness to make nuts or bridges.

The black keys are ebony which makes great nuts and bridges.

The pinblock (what the tuning pins fit into) is baltic birch plywood, which has got to be one of the densest materials ever - think long sustain. I'm thinking that would make a great diddley bow or lap steel.

The pedals and other hardware are probably brass (could be brass plated steel though). Brass is good for nuts and bridges.

Like someone else mentioned, you have the long piano hinge which you could cut up into smaller hinges for tailpieces or just to hinge your box. And of course, the strings.

Then you have the piano mechanism itself. Not sure what you could do with that, but you might be able to make some kind of whacky drum/percussion thing out of it.

What a gold mine! Kind of jealous - have fun!

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Permalink Reply by Kurtisthall on September 15, 2009 at 4:34am

Couldn't stop my dad from wrecking it. They must have built the house around this thing. The top lid, not for CBGs, I made a bar out of my 120 year old Cincinnati Krell upright top lid, turned it over and clearcoated it. Saved the ivory too. Is it ivory or plastic? Burn a small peice. Scrap the cast frame and buy stuff with the money.

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