Pinblock? WHAT pinblock?

[Joe And Penny Goss]

Hi David,
The plate you describe was called a uniplate or something of that nature.
They can be a bear to tune if the pins are too tight.
While loose pins are easy to fix by tightening the wedge in the hole.
No CA needed for this <G>.
Usually they hold pitch quite well.
Joe Goss
imatunr@srvinet.com
www.mothergoosetools.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Foster" <pno2nr@hotmail.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 5:38 PM
Subject: Pinblock? WHAT pinblock?


> List,
>
> I tuned an interesting piano today, a 30's vintage tiny Wurlitzer grand.
> When the customer said it had been rebuilt after a fire in the 60's, I
> reached inside to see if I could feel whether the original block had been
> replaced.  To my astonishment, there was no block!  The tuning pins look
> normal from the top, but are stubby, ending just below the plate webbing.
> Also, they are slotted on the bottom and each one has a thin steel wedge
> driven up into the slot.  I could not see any bushing of any sort between
> the tuning pins and plate holes, but if there was anything there, it was
> very, very thin.
>
> The piano actually tuned very well.  The feel of the pins during tuning
was
> quite different and unique.  Torque was high and surprisingly uniform from
> pin to pin, but there was no jumpiness at all.  When I exerted enough
effort
> to get the pin moving, it would turn slowly and smoothly, a kind of
molasses
> feeling.  The act of settling the pin after tuning a string was hardly
> needed.  It worked only within the narrowest of ranges anyway.
>
> Does anyone out there have any experience or knowledge of this piano?  It
> was refinished and had some other minor work done in a large piano repair
> shop in Detroit in the 60's.  Did Wurlitzer actually manufacture this as a
> option at one time, or is this piano experimental?  I could not find a
> serial number anywhere.
>
> Dave Foster
>
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