[CAUT] tuning pins on a Samick

[Gary Mushlin]

Don,

I'm assuming the piano was not under warranty when you did the  
operation. If it was under warranty, it would have been best to  
contact Samick and have them direct you. This way, if you did what  
they recommended and it didn't work out, they would cover you.  In  
fact, even if the piano is not under warranty, it wouldn't hurt to  
call Samick and tell them what happened. Maybe they could at least  
advise you what to do next.

It sounds like you did everything considered correct by professional  
standards. At least, I was told when I was trained that driving the  
tuning pins with supports was the proper way to deal with loose  
tuning pins as a first step. If they were really loose I might have  
used some CA glue and then drive the pins. Therefore, it is not your  
fault the pinblock split at the bottom lamination. It sounds like you  
had the jack tight enough. You shouldn't have to have the jack  
underneath where you are tapping, either. It may be necessary to move  
the jack 3 or 4 times as you complete the job.

My guess is that the laminations that really count (the ones that  
surround the tuning pin) are OK. If the tuning pins are tight after  
you tap the tuning pins, you are probably fine. Another way to tell  
if laminations are loose, is you can see portions of the pinblock  
that are lower than other portions. Sometimes you cannot see any  
problem, however. As far as tuning pin length, the only practical  
problem I see is that they might interfere with pulling the action  
out if they protrude too far below the pinblock. Also, it doesn't  
look good.

Normally, my next step when tuning pins come loose again is to repin.  
In your case, maybe replacing the pinblock might be the next step,  
considering that oversized pins might cause more splitting out  
(again, contact Samick).

My rule is that if I perform a service on a piano that is considered  
correct, it is the customer's responsibility if something goes wrong.  
I would not give them a free pinblock any more than I would give them  
free strings if strings break during the tuning process (unless I  
tightened the string by mistake well above the normal breaking point).

However, just because you don't owe them, that doesn't mean you don't  
have a customer relations problem. Most customers, I think,  
understand that when strings break  (as well as other things) that  
you are a professional and know what your doing, and won't blame you  
if something like this happens. My approach is to tell the customer  
up front that tapping the pins (and maybe using CA glue) is the first  
step because it is the least amount of work and is the least  
expensive approach, and that it is possible that it will not work.  
The next step would be repinning. The most drastic step is install a  
new pinblock and restring. If the pinblock/string replacement exceeds  
the value of the instrument, I might suggest repairing the pinblock  
with epoxy. I think the bottom line is not to promise the customer  
that you will solve every problem when using "first aid" techniques  
like tapping tuning pins. Something I learned from Wally Brooks years  
ago: "Don't make the customer's problem into your problem." Actually,  
I heard him say it years ago, but when something like what happened  
to you happens to me, I think I am still learning it.

Sincerely,
Gary Mushlin, MME, RPT




On Feb 5, 2007, at 9:21 AM, daniel carlton wrote:

> i actually wasn't replacing the pins, just driving the one that  
> were already there.
>
> "Why are you driving them so far through the block?
> When they go that far, they must be pushing the jack away from the  
> block."
> i made the mistake of not checking whether they were too long or not.
> i had done that two or three times before on other pianos, but the  
> pins were short enough that they didn't protrude through the bottom  
> of the PB, so i forgot to check. oops.
>
> Do you have a support between the keybed and the floor?
> yes i did have support between the keybed and the floor...the piano  
> legs. (SORRY, JUST KIDDING.)
> i used my pinblock support, the kind with two pieces of laminated  
> hardwood two large bolts.
> i had a piece of high density fiberboard between the support and  
> the keybed.
>
> "...you owe your customer a new pinblock as well."
> "Sorry, but I'd say that this block is a do-over."
>
> well...crap.
>
> i guess there's really no way to tell if the damage is deeper than  
> the first lamination.
> so it sounds like most everyone's professional opinion is to put in  
> a new PB?
>
> daniel carlton
>
>
>