How to Tip a Vertical Piano on its Back

Tipping a Vertical Piano on its Back (Piano Tuning and Repair)

Welcome to our Series on Piano Tuning and Repair.

There are some occasions where a piano needs to be tipped on its back for repairs. This video is a demonstration of using a piano tilter to tip a piano on its back. In most cases, this can be done by one person.

If you want to see more of our Piano Tuning and Repair Series, click here to access the entire playlist.

Video Transcript:

Introduction

Welcome back to our workshop here for Howard Piano Industries. Today what we're gonna be doing is showing you how to use a piano tilter, this is for upright pianos we've got using it on a spinet piano here today.

Tipping Mechanism

This mechanism here that we're gonna be showing you how to use you know you might say well why do I never ever have to tilt a piano it's most useful when you have to do either cast a replacement or cast to repair the wheels underneath the piano. On this piano the reason I'm going to be tilting it is because the front legs are really loose and wobbly and then so we need to do some repairs on the front legs, I've also used it for when I'm restringing an upright piano it's got a big I have to lay the piano one on its back when you're gonna restring it or at least it's easier to do it with the piano and Hudson on its back.

So those are some things that you might use it for you may if you're gonna be taking the bottom board off to do some take the pedals out or any do any kind of reconditioning to the pedals you know then you have to tip it on its back. So piano tilter is helpful and in some situations so we're gonna show you how to use it and basically how easy it is you know I'm gonna do this by myself because with the piano tilter you know you can it's designed to be able to do a one-man job. Now this is a spinet piano so if you've got a large upright you might want to have a second person but you know it is designed for you to use do it with one person.

Tipping Demonstration

So basically what we're gonna do is we're gonna tilt it up and put it underneath the piano and then, basically all we do, we want to make sure the piano is all the way forward. This is a really small room, so this is about as small of the room that you'd want to do it. If you've got if you've got it a lot of room it's a little bit easier but we've got we're working with a small workshop here so. Then basically I'm going to do is pull it back a little bit so it's resting up against the tilter, and then just rolling it back, and then once once it's hit the wheels and you have to push down on the handles that so there it is on its back and it's got four wheels so it does roll around fairly easily you can you know if you guys forgot it in a workshop or a room, might be a little bit I've rolled it on carpet but it is easier to roll on on cement, or hardwood, hard surface floors but so that's basically how you use a piano tilter.

Setting the Piano Back Upright

Now that we have the piano tilted back, we can show you how to set it back upright fairly simple just backwards from how we tilted it back just lift up on the handles very slowly and then put your pressure on the on the handles cause it's gonna want to tip down on you and just use your weight hold it back there we go and then once it's off the wheels then you can just and I'm going to pull this back a little bit just so we've got enough room on the front end and gradually let it down.

What I'm gonna do is come around here and make sure I'm holding the front edge of it so that it doesn't take off on me once it's down. Okay and then gradually set it down and there we go it's back into place so that's a fairly simple process one other thing I did want to mention another reason you'd want to tip a piano on its back is if you're applying CA glue to the loose tuning pins onto all the whole piano if you're gonna do that it's good to tip it on its back to do that and having a piano tilt or handy for that is helpful.