List. My trio played a lounge reception last night, with my electronic piano, and during a break I visited the entrance foyer where a grand "Old Lady" sat, poor thing :(>. I lifted the key cover and played a scale of octaves and quickly covered the keys back up. OUT OF TUNE. I spoke to the manager (twin brother of a neighbor of mine) about the piano and he said it hadn't been tuned in over a year and did need to be tuned. "I can do it Saturday Morning - OK, How Much? OK - but let me show you something". Turns out a guest spilled a drink on the plate/soundboard/strings/pins, about 18 months ago, from G2 all the way to A0. It was sopped out but there is a stain on the soundboard, the lighting was poor but the strings and plate appear to be discolored, the could not tell the condition of the hammers. "And it won't hold the tuning now, and it was tuned over a year ago" says he. "OK, Mr. Manger, there are a couple procedures that can be attempted to tighten the tuning pins, but first I want to tune the piano and identify which pins are loose. Then I'll discuss my ideas and let you be the judge on the short and long term recovery period and costs". "OK, that's fine, see you Saturday morning". Now, I've spent the morning searching the archives going back to 1996 up through today and there are many pros and cons. Participants have included: Les Smith, Richard Boyington, Warren Fisher, Keith McGavern, Richard Moody, John Kowalski, Ted Simmons, Glenn ?????, Joe Goss, Dave Hall, Susan Kline, Mike erickson, Clyde Hollinger, Roger Hayden, Clark ???, Craigb Brougher, Joe Garrett, Gordon Stelter, Paul McCloud, Bill Ballard, Carolyn Bohn, Wim Blees, Tom Driscoll and Dan (Invader). WHEW. Having read all of these contributions to this thread, there is one suggestion by Gordon Stelter which, to me, having never attempted this before, seems to be an easier initial step, I'm not saying that there is a consensus of agreement on this, but I'll write what Gordon says: " Pull the action, put aluminum foil on the keybed and use the thinnest type of CA glue around these pins (and the rest if you want to really up the tightness). Wear a carbon filter mask so you don't get a headache, goggles and gloves". There are many other suggestions such as the following, and I have not listed all of them (I've abbreviated them a bit, but you'll get the drift : 1) removing the pins, filling holes with impact resin, using 2/0 pins. 2) using Hot-Stuff red glue and krazy glue (CA) 3) driving the pins in a mm or so, always support the underside of the block. 4) Garfield's Pin Block Restorer, use a hypo-oiler squeeze bottle, apply to the base of the pins. (Assuming this means where the pin enters the wood pin bushing). 5) some tighteners turn the pin block wood into mush and causes terminal rust on any wire it touches. (GRRRRRRR). 6) "As far as liquid pin tightener goes, I say, NO, NO,NO,NO,NO, DID IS SAY NO? (I believe Robert Goodale was quite passionate about this) 7) "I recall a post about using super glue without removing the tuning pins". OK, the suggestions go on and on and I don't find ONE very specific procedure suggested that seems to be more readily accepted or agreed to the by the contributors listed above. Ya know like a procedure that might be printed in the PACE books. SO, If I were to use the procedure written out above, by Gordon Stelter, with the knowledge that it may not work, and I may have to do a couple other things now like, replace the wound bass strings which I'd then also replace the tuning pins, replace the damper rod bushings, replace the felt on the bass dampers, replace or refinish a few hammers, and there very likely a few other villians lurking down inside that I couldn't see or hear last night. Could I please hear the YEA'S AND THE NAY'S on an initial step to take. Please refer to Gordon Stelter as "Thump" as we have been mistakingly switched around in past discussions. My Regards, Gordon Holley Goshen, IN Associate Member Indiana Chapter 467
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