I'm sure I posted this in a previous similar thread, but please don't cut the strings off. Spend a few bucks and get a tuning hammer. Loosen every other string from bottom to top - then go back and loosen the remaining strings. Once all of the tension has been removed, you can safely do whatever you want. 30 to 60 tons of string tension is nothing to fool with. An abrupt change in tension caused by cutting the strings off before releasing the tension can result in an imploding cast iron plate. You don't want to be on the receiving end of that.
"A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me, I'm afraid of widths."
-Steven Wright.