Tuning Pin Length?/Gordon Stelter

[Ron Nossaman]

>Pianos made during that period, had
>WOODWORKERS that really knew about WOOD. They were the best of all
>woodworkers. They knew the way wood reacts and how to choose the wood for
>the task. If more piano techs would learn an adequate knowlege of wood they
>would better understand why it fails. Just MHO.
>Joe Garrett, RPT, (Oregon)

Joe, I'm having a little trouble with these logical connections. Aren't 
these best woodworkers of all time the folks who drilled the holes all the 
way through the pinblocks that you are now replacing, saying the holes 
shouldn't be drilled all the way through? Are you choosing wood more 
appropriate to the task than they did? How? How old are these failed blocks 
you are replacing? I would certainly expect a modern pinblock to last as 
long as the original under similar conditions. Have you ever replaced a 
"sealed" (whatever that is) block? I have, or at least a block that wasn't 
drilled through. Like David K said, I've replaced non-drilled-through 
blocks in about the same proportion as I've seen them in the wild compared 
to drilled through. No, I haven't made it a special point to check either way.

What manufacturers are currently doing their blocks this way, out of 
curiosity? That is, not drilling through and sealing.

Ron N