Loose tuning pins

[richard.ucci@att.net]

Richard,

Would it be a good idea to mask off the pinblock from underneath when using 
ca glue?

Rick Ucci/Ucci Piano
> Hello list,
>    Recently, I have worked on two pianos that had loose tuning pins and I
> did a little testing to find the best solution to the problem.
>    The first piano was a Yamaha G3 grand. I brought along a lot of size 3/0
> and 4/0 pins thinking I was going to replace the 2/0 originals and make fast
> work out of it. Well, as it turned out, the originals were 1/0, 2 3/8inch
> pins, and the only 2/0 pins I had were 2 1/2inch.
>    I made a fast tuning of the piano and marked all the loose pins. Then I
> started shimming them with sandpaper. That works real well and the original
> pins are used so they don't look different than the rest. I tried using one
> of the 2/0 pins, but to get it in far enough, I had to drive it into virgin
> pin block and it ended up way too tight.
>    Then I tried the controversial CA glue. Since this Yamaha had collars, I
> took the pins out for treatment. I ran CA downt the side of the pin, then
> drove it back in. It wasn't any tighter than it was in the first place, but
> when I came back to it later on when I fine tuned the piano, it was very
> tight. It had a different feel to it than the shimmed pin, though.
>    So, with this piano, I deduced that the shimmed pin was the better
> repair, but CA was much faster.
>    The second piano was a Baldwin Acoustic grand. This tuning was for a
> concert. There were only 4 or 5 pins that needed to be tightened so I used
> CA and let it soak in. I finished tuning and did my checks. I even played
> the piano for a little while, because the only time I get to play on a grand
> piano is when I tune one.
>    A few hours later I get a frantic call from the pianist telling me the E
> above middle C is sticking. I couldn't believe it, as I had just played the
> piano and it was in good shape.
>    I didn't have to rush back to the piano, as the concert was not for two
> days, but I went back early the next morning. Sure enough, the E was not
> only sticking, it was really stuck. It would not depress. I had to pull the
> action to find the cause. One lousy drop of CA had made its way down the
> side of one of those pins and dropped in the action, gluing one hammer very
> securely to the rail. So, let it be known that somehow, the CA glue can make
> its way all the way through the pin block and drop down hours later to cause
> problems. It sure fixes tight pins, though, so I'll continue to use it,
> maybe not so generously, though. Just a few observations.
> 
> Richard
> 
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