open face pinblock

[Brian Trout]

Hi Owen,

I can't think of any reason you can't use just about any nice piece of
veneer you want.  Looks is probably the biggest thing.  For my taste, I
think I would rather see something a little lighter in color, such as birds
eye maple or something similar.  But come to think of it, a nice piece of
quilted birch might look pretty neat too.  It's mostly a matter of what you
like.

Of more concern to me would be making sure to have a good solid glue joint
between the pinblock and that veneer.  Pockets of air and poor adhesion
could leave any piece of veneer vulnerable to more damage from the drill
bit.

As for drilling, use a SHARP bit, and don't rush the drilling process,
especially where the bit cuts through the veneer.  Rushing usually means
tear-out, even with a sharp bit.

On a side note:

It's easy to look at the naked, just drilled, open faced pinblock and pick
out every tiny little defect and spec.  But do keep in mind that there will
be a couple hundred tuning pins and a couple hundred strings all coming up
to those tuning pins, and when it's all said and done, we cover it up with a
music desk.  A lot of what we fuss and fuss over becomes fairly hidden
anyway.  Not to imply that we shouldn't take pride in our work.  I'm
probably one of the worst offenders of building 'pretty things that no one
will ever see'.  I've done this to myself when I notch a bridge.  I'm so
careful, but when I'm done, I see every little thing that isn't 'perfect',
and beat myself up for it.  But I've been looking at this thing from 4
inches away, for the last 4 or 5 hours, watching every little nook and
cranny develop. But then I'll go away for a while, and come back to it with
fresh eyes, and see that, yes, it is a good job, maybe a great job, compared
to some of the new pianos I've seen. :-)  Perspective... easy to
philosophize about, harder to maintain in real life...

...Oops, I guess I got carried away again.

Good luck with your project.

Brian Trout
Quarryville, PA
btrout@desupernet.net