How to Dismantle a Piano (PART 6) - Removing the Harp

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[@michaeltba9062]

Many thanks for this wonderful series. I am single handedly emptying a house and the piano was always going to be a problem! It's now much less of a problem now that it's apart. 🙏

[@obxfrogguy]

Your videos are GREAT!! Everything has gone gone SWIMMINGLY up until The Harp. Screws and bolts came out easily. The darn thing is GLUED down too!

[@Pianodrome]

Have you double-checked that there are no remaining screws or bolts holding the harp in place. Sometimes they can be painted in and obscured. It is unlikely that it has been glued in place - we have rarely, if ever, seen this. If you can get your hand under one end and lever it up slightly and give it a wiggle you might find you can locate whereabouts the harp is still attached. Also worth checking if there are any wooden blocks which are clamping it down around the edges. Good luck!! If you're really struggling send us some photos [e-mail]

[@NormRasmussen]

This is super helpful - both the comment and the content of the video! I am sure I have all screws removed and it also seems like our 1950s piano harp is glued to the wood. I’m going to do another very thorough check for clamps and painted screws. Thank you!

[@mark_fox_music]

I need to take away the keybed to remove the harp, then I intend to reattach the the keybed...in your experience is this possible or is the removing too damaging to allow later rebuilding? Love this series by the way!

[@Pianodrome]

This is definitely possible! If you kick off the keybed as per our earlier video you should be able to reattach after you've removed the harp. Sorry it took us so long to get back to you on this. Would love to see any pics of what you're making!

[@MarkH10]

What a privilege. I saw 999 subs and added.

[@christopherworkman9070]

I want to try to remove the harp without removing the keybed, because I want to turn my old piano into a desk. Would a reciprocating saw or grinder cut off the two cast iron brackets sticking out under the keybed? I hired a piano technician to fix some action parts and tune my 1906 Lester upright piano and he actually broke more. He told me to get a replacement piano, so I bought a spinet piano from someone I knew in school and I'm turning my old upright piano into a desk.

[@ArthurBandeira1]

Hello! Your series of videos on this has been extremely helpful for me. I bought an old broken piano just for the aesthetics. As it's extremely heavy I'm removing all of the interior and I got to the part of removing the screws from the harp. Just broke my only bit in the process, the screws are really really tight and most do not move at all. Could you please tell me length or diameter of the bits you guys used? Thanks!

[@Pianodrome]

Hi Arthur - we use 1/4 in bits, but using the actual 1/4 inch socket itself, which is usually used to connect the bit to the wrench. These work well for most pins, but not for all of them!

[@ArthurBandeira1]

@@Pianodrome Thanks!

[@JustinArdolino]

Do you have a video series for reassembling once it has been dismantled?

[@Pianodrome]

Look out for our upcoming series: 'How to build a Pianodrome'!

[@sapinva]

I'm wondering how much the cast iron harp will weigh in my 700+ pound, 80 year old, concert grand. It's about 1 1/4 inches think and 7 inches across in some places.

[@Pianodrome]

Wow, you're taking apart a concert grand!?! What's the plan for it? We do a lot of uprights, so I woulnd't say we're the experts hree, but you might find the harp could weigh as much as 100-150kg (so that's maybe 200-300 pounds??). Only one way to find out for sure...

[@sapinva]

@@Pianodrome It is an upright grand from the 30's, and truly massive. Never really liked the sound and it's way too loud for inside the house. But the wood work is amazing. I'm thinking the strings are close to 100 pounds, the harp 300+, leaving just under 300 pounds of wood. I'm going to assume 400 pounds for the harp and plan accordingly with safety measures. Was a little surprised how small the piano in the video was, but then I guess they have still been making pianos over the past 60 years.

[@24451320]

i want to keep the harp with the strings. is it possible ?

[@Pianodrome]

In many pianos you'll find you can remove the whole harp/soundboard assembly as a single unit. To do this don't unwind the strings, but remove the key bed and keyboard, front legs etc sides and lid at the top. The soundboard, pinblock and harp will need to be kept together.

[@swagifier1170]

I have been disassembling an old yamaha upright piano and have been trying to take the harp out. However, this is all for the purpose of making it lighter so i can move it elsewhere in my house. I am finding that it will be impossible to keep any of the strings on, and even then, it looks like the entire upper part of the harp is glued to the rest of the frame. Do you have any tips?

[@Pianodrome]

Hi Swagifier - if you want the piano to continue to be playable please do not remove the strings! You'll never get it back to good playable condition without a full refurb which would almost certainly cost more than the piano is worth. There are ways to safely move a piano around the house - getting a couple of friends to help with this is a must.

[@swagifier1170]

@@Pianodrome Well, I ended up trying to put the piano back together. After I took the action off all I did was un-tension some of the strings and remove the screws under them. I thought putting it back together would be easy but when I put the action and keybed back in, the keys were so stiff I could barely push them. Also, half of the dampers aren't even between the strings and they don't dampen properly. Have I just ruined my piano?

[@seethroughscience]

@@swagifier1170 Oh dear! Our piano dismantling guides are for those who are upcycling pianos. We wouldn't recommend taking any of these steps if you're hoping that your piano will continue to be playable. Pianos are incredibly carefully made machines, with lots of subtle fernickety parts. Your piano may well not be ruined, but if you want it to remain playable I would seek professional expertise, or be prepared to spend lots of time learning how the piano works so that you can put it back together properly.