hinge pins

[bases-loaded@juno.com]

Hi Dave -

I have always just drilled out the hinges to accept the closest
substitiute hinge pin.  Only takes a couple minutes and saves hunting and
hunting and hunting, only to find the size you really need is seemingly
unavailable.

As they say, don't sweat the small stuff...

Mark Potter
bases-loaded@juno.com

On Thu, 9 Aug 2001 02:52:22 -0600 "Dave Nereson"
<dnereson@dimensional.com> writes:
> A customer has a 1925 Mason & Hamlin 'A' and the hinge pins got lost. 
>  I
> tried successively larger drill bits in the hinges to see what size 
> they
> should be and came up with .140".  The ones that were in there were 
> .136"
> (maybe .133" since I don't see .136" in the catalogs) and too loose 
> -- they
> vibrate their way out of the hinges when playing.   The hardware 
> store had
> brass rod in .125" (1/8") and .156" (5/32") but not 9/64", which is 
> close to
> the .140" I need.
>     Schaff does indeed have a .140" pin, but APSCO doesn't.  They 
> both have
> a .117" and a .150", and both have a "Steinway" style pin (.144" in 
> the
> APSCO catalog; no diameter given in the Schaff).   Then Schaff has a 
> Yamaha
> pin, but gives no diameter, and APSCO also offers .104", .125" 
> (1/8"), and
> .133", one of which could be the Yamaha size, but they don't say.  
> I've
> encountered Asian pianos with hinge pins that are .157" and .197" 
> (probably
> 4mm and 5mm, since they're metric, I presume) but neither supply 
> house
> offers these.  And it can take 2 months to order them from Korea 
> via
> California, which I've had to do.
> Schaff doesn't seem to have trap pins, but APSCO does have some at 
> .155",
> which could be used for the .157", I guess.
>     But why all the disparity?  Why can't one or both of the large 
> suppliers
> offer all the sizes, metric and "standard", and give diameters for 
> all the
> pins?  Haven't the two merged now?  Didn't Schaff buy American or 
> vice
> versa?  Why do they keep two separate catalogs?  Just put everything 
> in one
> book so we don't have to go back and forth, seeing who carries what 
> and who
> has the better price, and who has "the good kind" of bushing cloth 
> and who
> has "the cheap kind" of bridle straps, or whatever.  I know this is 
> endemic
> to the capitalist/consumer system, but it's also a time-waster, 
> whether
> you're ordering a couple hinge pins or a whole slew of stuff for a 
> rebuild
> job.
>                                                                      
>        
>              --David Nereson, RPT
> 
>