List, I've watched this thread and been glad to see that most agree that tilting on the lyre is not always the best way. I have seen joint damage from that style of tilting, especially in our dry climate, where the joints come loose anyway. The following post from Dennis points out the relative importance of skid contact when the piano's left edge is first lowered. It has also been mentioned that some lower the piano with the board already on the dolly. When moving units that have a lot of "miles", the most common damage we see is a crushed left corner. Polyester pianos have a neat habit of loosing chunks of finish when the wood changes dimension. The technique we use does lower the piano with the board on the dolly, and despite the fact that we don't like to tilt the board up for the dolly, the biggest advantage IS the fact that when the piano goes down to the board, the board tips as it takes the weight, bringing the long part of the board up to meet the long side of the piano. The biggest challenge is that we prefer all-swivel type dollies, so we lay down a folded blanket to act as "anti-skate". Not an issue on carpet, but lotsa fun on concrete or tile. It allows a manual shifting of the long end of the board for precise placement, and reduces the damage that can result from the inelastic collision that occurs if the board is on the floor. When raising a piano from the board, with the board still on the dolly, it's possible to lever the piano up by pressing down on the tail end of the board, thereby giving the hoisters a lot of extra help, without much strain. We always use a three-legged steel prop, with a vertical piece of heavy all-thread that passes through a large steel nut welded in the center of the top of the three legs. Adjustable, very strong, and able to be positioned for stability or overbalance. Also can be used under the keybed of uprights that are getting leg-work. Safety first. Right. At least for the hired help....... Guy Nichols, RPT At 03:35 PM 5/31/99 -0400, you wrote: >David: > >The Horse IS on the skid board before tilting. The block under the tail end >of the board is only to insure that the tail of the piano touches the skid >board before the key end of the piano. Mr. Crail (who is a professional >piano mover) advised that the front bass edge of pianos frequently are >damaged when that edge comes down on the board first. The block is removed >after the piano is on its side and secured. When the piano is removed from >the skid board, the tail block is not used. > >Dennis Hershman >Hershman Piano Service >
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