Movers- Shipping Long Distance Pianos or Grandfather Clocks

If you are moving a long distance and own a piano, organ or grand father clock you want to be very particular whom you choose as your mover. These items are much more difficult to move than heavy appliances or furniture and require special handling.

First, check piano movers in your area and if none are experienced widen the search to neighboring cities or states.  You want to make sure you hire a professional piano mover for the job.  In spite of the size and weight of a piano, it is a delicate instrument (because of the thousands of moving parts inside). 

Make sure the piano is easily accessible to the movers, so you want to clear any small objects and pieces of other furniture away from the piano and from the path to the door.  Also, decide exactly where you want to piano located in your new home as the movers aren’t going to want to try out various locations for you. 

Always lower the lid and lock it before moving a piano.  If you have an upright piano the move will have one man stationed on each end, and they will more it endways.  They must be careful not to strain the legs on the carpet or threshold.  A grand piano will take three men to move it.  Often they will remove the legs of the piano, then wrap it in tarps to prevent scratching before they take it to the van.

You also definitely want experienced movers for your grandfather clock. They are expensive to repair if not properly moved. Grandfather clocks are typically heirlooms passed down from one generation to another, but even if it is brand new, they are expensive and fragile, so you want a quality craftsman to assist with the more.

1. Wind up the clock so the weights are as close to the seat board as you can get them; but remember you need to be able to put the weights back on the pulley hooks when reassembling so leave some room to hold the pulleys. A good guide line is to wind the pulley up to just above the trunk door top.
2. Move the hook to expose the movement and dial and place masking tape over the gut line that ids around the strike and going barrels which will stop the gut line from springing out and getting tangled when you take off the weights and it will keep everything else in place when you lift the movement and dial from the case.
3. Take off the weights and mark with a piece of masking taped (L) left and (R) right, or sometimes there are three weights.
4. Now remove the pendulum off the movement being very careful not to damage the thin suspension spring at the top of the pendulum which is threaded through the crutch at the back of the movement.
5. Now you can lift the movement and dial from the case and away from the trunk cheeks by lifting the whole thing up with the seat board and placing it in its packing case. It is best to pack the movement and dial stood upright in the box making sure the bottom of the dial is not crushing the gut lines.
6. Your clock is now ready to be moved to your new home. Before the men carry it to the van they will wrap it in protective tarps.

To reassemble you follow these same directions exactly backwards.  If it were me, I would hire a professional clock mover to do all of those steps and move the clock.  You can use these steps, however, and move the clock yourself.

Moving long distance or even in the same city is a big job but these large items require special care over and above the rest of your house hold goods.  That is why you want very well experienced people to handle these particular items.  It is worth the extra money to have these properly moved as these items are something you typically keep for a lifetime.

The copyright to this article is owned by Pamela Oglesby. Permission to republish this article in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.