Dean’s Books

Dean is writing a series of books. The first is available on line now; the second is still being written. More are coming.

“How To Move a Piano by Yourself with the Wrong Equipment”

Until this book was written, the only ways you would have gotten your piano moved were either with a bunch of friends, brute force and a “figure-it-out-as-we-go” attitude, or to give in and hire piano movers. Now you can learn how to move a piano by yourself even if you don’t have the right equipment. Learn the right and wrong way to move a piano, what equipment works and what available items could work, and how to maneuver a piano through nearly any challenge.


“How to Tear Apart a Piano and Still Use It”

Originally, this concept was going to be a book describing in detail how to dismantle every part of a piano, and listing ideas of what can be done with each piece. Instead, this book idea became a web site: https://www.PianoRecycling.org

The idea is that every single part of a piano can be re-used, which is the ultimate form of recycling. While a piano may no longer be the instrument it was originally designed to be, it can become many things that can be shared and appreciated by countless people, embellishing lives and bringing surprises and smiles to everyone who comes in contact with it.

Because older pianos have reached the point of costing more to repair than they are worth to sell, people have started throwing them in the land fill, which is a total waste. If a piano is to be thrown out, at least save some of the good parts. What is worth saving? The most obvious part is the ornate music board. Consider the internal hardware, such as latches, hinges, lid props, levers, eye bolts, casters, pedals, rods, bolts, and hundreds of screws. Then there is the wood, which is generally dry old growth lumber that is valuable to any woodworker. The iron plate can serve as a fence, a trellis, a support, or a decoration, among other ideas. The list goes on.

Visit the site and be creative. Please send pictures of what you make out of your piano if you would like it posted on https://www.PianoRecycling.org.