Lifting upright piano

[Leslie W Bartlett]

There is a point to be made that the larger the piano the easier to lift. Spinets are particulary bad. On consoles you can hold the handle as a "pull thingie" to bring your shoulder solidly against the back of the piano, and then the motion becomes more of a "push than a straight lift.  I don't know if Paul Simone gets on the list any more, but he taught me the trick when I was getting really tired at one of the national conventions on the moving crew.  Once he showed me how to push and lift at the same time it became easy.  My last year, I think short creature came over to me and said, "I want to shake your hand becuase I heard you move that  piano all by yourself....... Yeah I did, and then this guy went right over and did the whole lift on a Steinway D. But getting the shoulder down and tightly against the side of the piano, then push harder than you lift can be valuable.
les bartlett

--- On Wed, 8/27/08, Conrad Hoffsommer <hoffsoco at luther.edu> wrote:

From: Conrad Hoffsommer <hoffsoco at luther.edu>
Subject: Re: Lifting upright piano
To: "Pianotech List" <pianotech at ptg.org>
Date: Wednesday, August 27, 2008, 9:44 AM

James Johnson wrote:
> I frequently move  console, spinet and studio upright pianos and I have 
> trouble lifting one end of the piano up the first 10 or 12 inches.  Once 
> I get it up where I can regain my purchase, I can easily lift it up the 
> rest of the way to where the dolly will fit under the middle of the 
> piano.  Do any of you know of any type of lever system that would lift 
> the piano that first amount?  It needs to be portable and easy to use.  
> Any suggestions would be appreciated.
> Thanks, Jim Johnson


Get a helper?


I move consoles around by myself, a lot, and use the following procedure:

I put the dolly up against one side, blanket under the other end, then, 
with one foot through the dolly, I lift using the handle and keybed 
until I can kick the dolly under the end. Then, I squat down and lift 
from under the bottom and toe block until I balance the piano on the 
other corner. At this point, since the piano is balanced, I move the 
dolly to the middle and up against the bottom board and let it piano 
down onto it. A cloth covered dolly will tend to slide along the bottom 
board, but keeping a foot on it will keep it in place.

Getting it down is basically the same, except that I usually skip the 
intermediate step, kick the dolly clear and lower the piano all the way 
to the floor, being sure I don't have my fingers under the wheels.

Use legs, not back when lifting, of course.

Donning latest model flamesuit... ;-}


-- 
Conrad Hoffsommer, RPT - Keyboard Technician
Luther College, 700 College Dr., Decorah, Iowa 52101-1045
1-(563)-387-1204 // Fax 1-(563)-387-1076


Remember that, while money talks,  CHOCOLATE SINGS!
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