Flipping a grand piano upside down

[Brad Smith, RPT]

Hi David and List, 
I just built a 'grand piano tilter' and have a link to pictures to
share: 
http://www.smithpiano.com/ptg.htm

My purpose was to have a way to safely tip pianos for shop work, without
having to find other people to help. 
(I also remember moving a Baldwin grand, and the legs were barely
attached to the piano.  
When we tried to move the piano, we ended up holding it in our hands!)
That also inspired me.
So, my idea is to use three scissors jacks mounted to wooded 'tripods',
and jack up the piano, remove the legs, and slide my grand piano tilter
under.
Strap the skidboard and dolly to the piano, and tilt the whole thing
over safely, onto the dolly. 
No stress to the piano legs, or to the people. 

This could also be used to tip the piano upside down, by adding a board
to the top of the piano, ensuring that the tilter arms would not damage
the innards.

Enjoy!

Best regards,
Brad Smith, RPT
www.smithpiano.com


-----Original Message-----
From: David Vanderhoofven [mailto:david@vanderpiano.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2005 9:40 AM
To: pianotech@ptg.org
Subject: Flipping a grand piano upside down


Greetings!

I am needing to do a rim repair on a grand piano, and am wondering about

flipping the piano upside down.  I vaguely recollect at a convention a
few 
years ago that there was a device similar to an upright piano tilter,
but 
it was designed for grands.  Does anyone routinely flip pianos upside 
down?  If so, what is your method for doing so?  Or do you usually let
the 
movers handle such jobs?

Thanks for your replies!
David Vanderhoofven


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