New piano pin torsion

[Richard E. Clark]

Greetings All,

I am returning to piano tuning after a many-year'd absence, and am quite
happy to be back. This has got to be one of the best jobs in the world (i=
t
took me years to realize).

It is interesting to note the changes that have occurred in the industry-=

some good, some bad- but that is another subject. What I am hoping here i=
s
that someone can shed insight on the following puzzler:

In a store where I work they sell several brands of piano, from Asia, U.S=
=2E,
and Northern Europe. All seem to have these Delignit or Delignit-type
pinblocks, and as I perform the floor tunings they pretty much all have n=
ot
only an excessively tight pin feel (I rarely ever extended my lever in th=
e
'old days', but do so now every day), but I also detect a troubling amoun=
t
of twisting in the pin itself, which makes the pins very hard to settle,
and the tuning perhaps less precise than one would like.

Of course I at first assumed that the excessive pin torsion was a simple
consequence of the tight pin/pinblock fit, but then the store got in a ni=
ce
Schimmel piano, which required just as much torque to tune, but had a ver=
y
untorsiony, confident feel to the pins. They did not seem to twist at all=

before turning in the pinblock, and settled quite readily.

So a few questions come to mind- and if anyone has thoughts on them, I
would be grateful to hear them.

1. Are there different hardnesses of tuning pins out there, wherein some
will twist and some won't?
2. Does anyone know a difference in pinblock material to explain the
difference in the Schimmel (perhaps the same *dynamic* torque-feel, but a=

lesser *static* grip on the pin) and the other brands?
3. Do these 'tight and twisty' type pianos generally loosen up after a
couple tunings?
4. Are there any new generally accessible avenues of  online communicatio=
n
between independent tuner-techs and company tech departments (or the Pian=
o
Manufacturers Associations) where tech info and field reports are
exchanged?

Thanks in advance, All, for your ideas. And it's good to be back.

Rick Clark