That can also happen when your on the wrong tuning pin...;-/ David I. -----Original Message----- From: owner-pianotech@ptg.org [mailto:owner-pianotech@ptg.org]On Behalf Of Doug Garman Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2000 6:04 PM To: pianotech@ptg.org Subject: Re: Tight pinblocks I recently tuned an Young Chang U-116S upright. The owners said they bought it in Kansas in 1991 and that it had never been tuned other than shortly after it was delivered. I had to pull it up slightly to pitch, enough to require turning the pins, but I did not actually go through a pitch raise procedure. The pins were the tightest I've ever had the "pleasure" of turning. I truly had no feel for string tension. I could twist the pin quite a bit before it would jump in the wood. You can imagine my surprise when with a loud "bang" and plenty of sparks one of the wound strings on E3 broke at the becket. I've only been doing this business part-time for about seven years, so there's plenty I haven't seen. My right arm was tired when I finally finished. Doug Garman, Associate Member Granbury, TX dgarman@granbury.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Bill Ballard <yardbird@sover.net> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2000 5:40 AM Subject: Re: Tight pinblocks > At 11:17 PM -0400 5/29/00, Brian Trout wrote: > >I tried to tune a piano today that had been built with what I believe is an > >excessively tight pinblock. I actually did get out the torque wrench. I > >can only read it up to about 250 inch pounds of torque, and probably 2 - 3 > >dozen of the tuning pins were way in excess of that. Judging from the feel > >of the pins, I would guestimate in excess of 300 inch pounds for the worst. > > Most tuning pins I know would have twisted off at the becket somewhere > between 257-300#. > > >Am I being a jerk to say that this brand new, well recognized, name brand > >piano is defective? Would I be wrong in recommending that the manufacturer > >be asked to repair this defect? > > Sounds like the not-so-",,,,,lite" version of one of them amber blocks. > You'll have a hard time convincing the dealer that a pinblock can be bad > with the opposite of loose tuning pins. You'll be lucky to get a factory > service manager to aggree that it's a problem. It's not for people just > trying to get the piano through inspection and shipped. It is for those of > us who have to tune it year after year. You'll get the manufacturer's > attention when tuning pins start snapping > > >Anyone care to name the highest acceptable torque? > > 175#. There should be a reasonable relatronship between the string friction > and pinblock grip. In any case the former needs to be less than the latter. > But a freshly strung piano will have string friction well under100#. For > the bottom end of the pin to move at anything more than 150#, you'll be > working with an exagerated difference bewteen how the strings and pins > move, all the more unworkable in the tuning situation where new stretching > wire requires getting the bottom end of the pin to move to accomplish the > pitch raise.. > > Bill Ballard, RPT > New Hampshire Chapter, PTG > > "Come on, a priest and a rabbi?! I think I've heard this one before" > ...........the Punjabi/Irish barkeep in "Keeping the Faith" > > > >
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