The Voice of Inexperience

[A440A@aol.com]

Alan writes: 
<< Okay, she's willing to pay for new wound strings (there are 65 of

them--including tri-chords on both sides of the break).


Given all the facts above: How would you proceed? What would you do? 4/0

pins? Are shims a better option when it's been doped? Open to all ideas  >>

Greetings, 
   I have one of these pianos, also.  And there are sure a lot of wound 
strings in them!  There are two approaches that I think could make sense. A 
cheap,fast way, and a more expensive, permanent way.  
1.  Use oversize pins in there and be ready to super-glue if they don't hold. 
 Whether you go with one size over or two will depend on what you find 
happening after you pound a few of them in.  Try not to think about the 
longevity and you may get to sleep at night........

2.  Use a 3/8" drill and drill out all the tuning pin holes, then plug them 
all with Falconwood plugs.  You will have to "stack" two of them on top of 
each other, and I would use something really permanent like West system resin 
for the adhesive. The resin will move into any cracks in the block, further 
solidifying the structure, though the Falconwood plugs are pretty solid in 
and of themselves.   When you have them all plugged, use a "C" bit to drill 
the holes and then use a 1/0 pin.  This should give you a permanent repair 
that you can trust. 
   In 1980, the new STeinway D at Vanderbilt had a problem on the A0 and A#0 
pins.  When I removed them, I found that the hole had been drilled even with 
the webbing hole, and the pin's original torque was created by metal on 
metal.  In the first year of tuning, the metal wore clearance and the pin 
would no longer hold.  When I Dremeled the webbing out of the way, and then 
tried a 3/0 pin, it simply dropped into the elongated hole in the block.  I 
plugged it with the above mentioned method and the two pins held torque just 
fine for the next 22 years!  It works. 
   Be very fastidious about your drilling the new holes, it helps to tape a 
bubble gauge to the drill or to have an alignment block to drill through.  
The drilling by hand will not be as sure a bet as a drill press, but if you 
are starting with 1/0 pins and find a looser fit in some, it is easy enough 
to move up to a 2/0 pin. 
  If it is worth doing, it is worth doing right.  
Good luck,  
 Ed Foote RPT 
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html