Ray Fairfield told of how his piano survived the earthquake, and there
have been also a few piano mover stories in the past.  It reminded me
of when I first brought my Knabe Ampico to Israel.  I contracted the
movers in America to deliver the piano and install it in my new
apartment.

The company in San Francisco that I contracted built a case for
transport with extra support for the piano, and it was a good thing that
they did.  The movers came with a truck and somehow thought that two
men could single-handedly unload the piano from the side with no lift.

I couldn't believe my eyes when the entire crate came crashing down
off the side of the truck, most of the impact was on the piano frame,
bass keyboard side.  Needless to say I was stunned when they opened the
crate and very little damage had occurred.  The extent of the damage
was a rounded corner on the frame (barely noticeable) and two broken
ivory plates.

After they had brought the piano in, I plugged it in (through a
transformer as the voltage in Israel is DC 220), traced down a couple
of tubes that had loosened, and the piano started playing!  I told the
story to my piano tech (currently rebuilding the piano) and he was
amazed.  That is one solid piano!

Eli Shahar (currently replacing all the rotten leather in the pump)