Hitch Pins

[PIANOBIZ@aol.com]

Les
I understand your concern for quality work on quality pianos.  I applaud you
for this and share your sentiments.  Don't you think however,  the failure
you have cited is related to the size hole drilled in the plate rather than
the material used for the hitch pin?  In your example the material did not
fail but the part rotated.  The technician drilled a hole too large, probably
not using a micrometer to correctly match pin and hole.  I certainly don't
hold as sacred a part listed in the catalog as a plate pin. In fact I tried
them and didn't like them.  ( Why, I could buy a bridge cap repair item to
repair split out bridges too.)

What happened to you on your Steinway is exactly what happened in the brand
new Baldwin (upright) incident which I alluded to in my first post on this
subject.  The hitch pin was being turned around by the string tension because
it was loose in the plate.  Examining it closer I could rotate the hitch pin
in the hole with my fingers. My principal recommendation is that the hole
size is critical, too small or too large have obvious shortcomings.

I also think your statement regarding hitch pins being made of cast iron and
some even being cast as one unit with the plate is incorrect. Maybe you could
elaborate further on what you meant there.  Cast iron is only strong in one
plane, that's why we attach it to a frame.  This being a public forum I
expect some further input on that.

David Sanderson
Littleton, MA
Pianobiz@aol.com