pin dope

[Les Smith]

>
> I've been following the posts on liquid solutions with not a little interest.
> There are those
> situations where repinning and/or a new block is not feasable for various
> reasons. An older technician in our shop remembers that many years ago he
> knew of someone who used a seemingly effective solution composed of
> antifreeze. Anyone have any comments?
>
> Also, after one of your suggestions, I tried drilling a very small hole thru
> tuning pin bushings on one budget grand candidate and must admit that it is
> slow & tough going. I would appreciate any input.
>
> Thanks a million!
>
> Richard Boyington
> Piano Technical Coodinator
> Amro Music Stores, Inc.
> Memphis, Tenn.

Hi, Richard. By using one of the slower working pinblock restorers like
Garfield's (as opposed to something like American's Quickset) you might
not have to drill holes throught pin bushings. If the piano is old enough
and dried out enough to need a pin block restorer, chances are that the
pin bushings are loose enough and worn enough to permit the initial ap-
plication of TPT to reach the pinblock without much trouble. The problem
lies in the fact that the same solution that swells the wood in the pin-
block also swells the wooden plate bushing, making a second or third ap-
plication more difficult. It's at this point that drilling a hole in the
pin bushing to allow the TPT to more easily reach the pinblock becomes a
possibility. However first try the following.

Having removed the action rom the piano, or at least protected it with
heavy paper, take a hypo-oiler and start applying the TPT in the bass section
and work your way up to the treble. By the time you finish the entire piano
you'll probably find that the TPT in the bass section has completely soaked
in and you can start a second application immediately. If you wait an entire
week (or longer) you'll probably fiind that the plate bushings have swollen
enough to make another application difficult. Therefor instead of waiting a
week, go back to the piano several hours later, before the plate bushings
have had a chance to swell and give it another application. AFTER the TPT
has had a chance to do it's job, you might want to set any pins that still
feel questionable a little deeper into the block, assuming that you have
enough room between the coil and the plate. Setting the pins first will make
it more difficult for the TPT to do it's job.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Les Smith
lessmith@buffnet.net