Value of Chickering grand

[dempsey@MARSHALL.EDU]

I've been reading with some interest this thread re old Chickering Quarter
grands. I happen to have one in my shop now undergoing a complete interior
rebuild (no refinishing of the case). New pinblock,strings,
hammers/shanks, wippens,etc. the whole nine yards. 

I concur that the sectional block is not confined to just the quarter
grand but is found in other larger(and smaller) models as well.
My project does not have such a design feature. It has a solid panel block
with an easy to fit flange side..a gentle sweeping curve without the
troublesome deep notch in the bass end. The block is screwed to the plate
in the usual fashion but none of the screws pass thru the block into the
rim at any point.Nor is the block glued to the rim or the stretcher!! I'll
be rectifying THAT. 

The thing that has been driving me nuts, and the point of this post is to
ask this: The piano has tuning pin bushings. The largest diameter pin
bushing that any vendor seems to carry is 7/16" and these just "drop" in
the plate...too small. 1/2" ( if there were such a thing) will be to big,
so what I'm needing is a bushing that has an O.D of 15/32" or 31/64"

Any suggestions? I don't like the idea of CA or epoxy to secure the 7/16"
size.I'm toying with the idea of just leaving the bushings out
Who needs the aggrevation.

Paul E. Dempsey, RPT
Marshall University 
Huntington, WV