Pinblock

[Brian Trout]

Hi Martin,

Do you have a bandsaw?  Know somebody who has one?

It's really not so hard.  Most of the supply companies only supply you with
a block of wood in the vague shape of what you need anyway.  The rest is up
to you.

You can get a blank piece of pinblock material from almost any of the supply
houses.  They come in different thicknesses, so you'll want to see what the
old one is before you order the plank.

Take a look at the old pinblock.  It will probably have an edge (that went
against the plate flange) that has a bevel on it.  It's usually not too
severe, normally 3 or 4 degrees or so.  I never measure it, so I don't know.
You'll want to cut that edge of the new pinblock on about the same angle.
The way I do it, is to lay the old pinblock on the table of the bandsaw (not
running) and tilt the table until the blade lines up with the beveled edge
of the pinblock.  Check it in several places along the length of the
pinblock, but most of the time, it'll be pretty consistent.  Once you have
the angle set, the bandsaw is ready to go.

Take a square along the bottom of the old pinblock and up in the front,
where the bevel is, in such a way as to see how square it isn't.  Measure
how far it is from the top edge of the bevel to the square.  It's not
terribly critical, but at least get an idea of what it is.  Now do the same
thing for the other end (usually the same, but it's good to check).  Most of
the ones I've done are around 1/8", give or take a little.  Lay the old
pinblock on top of the new blank so that the long straight side will be the
long side of the new blank.  It's already straight.  Now, to take into
consideration the bevel, let the old pinblock overhang the new blank by the
1/8" (or whatever) measurement you took earlier. Clamp it in place so it
won't move, and trace a line on the new blank following the old pinblock as
a pattern.  While you have it clamped, don't forget to mark the ends the
pinblock so you'll know where to cut off the ends. (By the way, when I'm
doing this, the top of the pinblocks are facing up, and the bottoms of the
pinblocks are facing down.)

You're ready to cut out your pinblock.  Pay attention that you cut out your
new pinblock on the same side of the bandsaw blade as you had your old
pinblock while setting the angle, same side up, and same ends in the same
direction.

Now, cut it out.  One thing though.  You've taken the time to make a nice
line to follow, do follow it.  Take your time.  Cut it as accurately as you
can.  It's good to cut it out with the intention of leaving the line,
especially if you're planning to fit it the old fashioned way.  You can
always run the straight side of the block over the jointer if it's too big.
That being said, I'm not opposed to making small changes to a new pinblock
if I think it will make for a better construction than was original.  If
there's no reason why it wasn't glued / screwed / doweled to the case and /
or the stretcher in the first place, many times I will put it back in a more
secure way than it came out.  Explanations can get a little convoluted at
this point without actually being in front of the piano, but sometimes to
make those kinds of changes, you might need a bit more wood on the stretcher
side of the pinblock.  You just take all that into account when you're
cutting this thing out.  Think about things before you cut, and use some
common sense.  You'll do just fine.

Guess what?  You've just done what the supply houses would have done for
you, and it probably took me longer to type this into my computer than it
would have for me to have done it.

Now as for fitting the pinblock, that's another story.  There are a number
of ways to do it, either applying chalk of some kind and grinding down the
high spots, or using some type of epoxy to fill in all the gaps.  If you've
done this part before, you probably know what to do.  If you need some
pointers, just ask.

I've got to get back to my pinblock now.  Unfortunately, it's not so easy,
as it's the multi-leveled, sloped, curved, otherwise kind of a pain in the
neck to duplicate Knabe pinblock I've been putting off.  Seriously, though,
it's going well.  Should have it done in another day or two.

Best wishes, and good luck with your pinblock.

Brian Trout
Quarryville, PA
btrout@desupernet.net


----- Original Message -----
From: Martin Dubow <tuner@mediaone.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2000 2:58 PM
Subject: Pinblock


> Where, in Southern California, can I get a pinblock made?
>
> Pacific Piano is backed up and can't get to it for quite awhile.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Martin
>
>