help with broken tuning pin

[Tony Court]

----- Original Message -----
From: DALE DAVIDSON <davidsonpianos@hotmail.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2000 12:01 PM
Subject: help with broken tuning pin


> Hello list,
>
> Yesterday I had my first(and hopefully last) experience with a broken
tuning
> pin. An upright Knabe, broken at the becket hole on the pin closest to the
> pressure bar. The pin in question is very tight.
> I've seen two different tools in supply house catologues: A simple tap and
> die, and something that has a reverse thread that looks like it threads
> itself onto the outer diameter of the broken pin. I have about 3/8ths of
an
> inch of exposed pin to work with.
> Any one out there had the pleasure of experiencing this?
> I would appreciate any advice regarding type of tools used, any particular
> techniques or tricks that worked.
>
> Thank you in advance,
>
> Dale Davidson RPT
> Ottawa, Ont., Canada
>
> ________________________________________________________________________
> >Hi Dale,
It depends how much shoulder you've got left on the pin. the devices that
fit over the pin rely on having quite a good lump to get hold of, so I
prefer the other kind that you mention i.e the thing like a tap. These are
sold in UK as a small set of 4or 5 sizes called "eze outs", plus you will
need a tap wrench.I get these from engineering supply places, which often
stock many of the implements we use in the piano trade, but cheaper than the
piano supply houses. You could try this one in UK if you like:
eng.supplies@virgin.net  They have been good to me!
Also take some lubricant for the drill bit, tuning pins are v.tough, and
apply it to the drill bit. Keep the drill speed very moderate and apply
steady pressure to drill the hole. N>B take a centre punch and put a good
dent to start the drill or THE DRILL WILL WANDER! Once you have produced a
hole of sufficient depth and diameter, you can then insert the "eze out" in
anti clockwise direction.
As the "eze out" gets a grip it will then start to bring the pin out.
If you can avoid using the smallest tool, so much the better, as the small
ones are inclined to break easily.
On a more cheerful note, I have been tuning for 15 years( imperial years
that is) and it hasn't happened to me more than a couple of times!
Good luck,
Tony
>