Broken bridge pin

[Kenneth Sloane]

                      Subject:                              Time:  11:06 AM
  OFFICE MEMO         Broken bridge pin                     Date:  4/15/95

Re "Broken #002#Bridge Pin" posting:

Since it broke flush with the bridge top, I would suggest excavating some wood
from around the top of the pin so that you could gain purchase on the pin with
something like a vice grip and try yanking the pin out. Problems like this are
frequently "one of a kindish" since you probably don't know how tight or deep
the pin will be in the bridge. Once out (good luck), I suggest drilling a hole
in the bridge that will follow the bridge pin line but be large enough to deal
with the excavation at the top of the hole. You can make a dowel out of a
hard, maple hammer shank to properly fit the hole by "sizing" the shank.  This
is accomplished by forcing the shank through successively smaller holes in a
steel or cast iron plate about 1/16" thick. Drill the holes with high speed
bits from a wire index (numbered) set so that the changes in dimension are
small enough to slowly decrease the diameter of the shank without breaking it.
It's a good technique for filling "odd size" holes that doesn't take a lot of
sophisticated tools. Bob Myers of the Cleveland, Ohio Chapter turned me on to
it.

Ken Sloane, Oberlin Conservatory