Pinblock Installation

[Mike Spalding]

Terry,

Here's the procedure that I was taught - so far I've found no reason to
alter it:

1.  After de-stringing but before removing any plate bolts, drill through
the plate into the inner rim for locating pins or screws - your choice, as
long as they are beefy enough.  Also, measure plate height relative to rim
at tail and both ends of stretcher.

2. after fitting the new pinblock to the plate, install plate and pinblock
into the piano, with pinblock securely screwed to plate and then supported
on jacks from the keybed at the previously measured height.

3.  Make spacers to exactly fill the gap between the pinblock and the top of
the inner rim (which you carefully plugged, scraped and leveled after
removing the old pinblock.

4.  Jack up the pinblock/plate a half inch or so.  Apply a thick coat of
West & colloidal silica to the bottom of the spacers, a small dot or two to
the top, slide into position, and lower the pinblock/plate.  Clean up the
squeeze-out.

5.  When the epoxy has cured, remove the plate, drill through each end of
pinblock into inner rim for locating pins (and screws or dowels, depending
on how you intend to fasten the pinblock to the inner rim), then gently tap
the pinblock to break the glue dots holding it to the spacers.

6.  With the locating pins in place, you can use a similar technique to
install a spacer between the pinblock and stretcher, and fit the blind
dowels between the pinblock and stretcher.

hope this helps

Mike Spalding RPT

----- Original Message -----
From: "Farrell" <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2003 6:26 AM
Subject: Pinblock Installation


> Some good news and a question. Baldwin M grand.
>
> Good news:
> My first home-made pinblock seems indeed to be an A-OK pinblock. I'm glad
all the edges will be covered by plate and case, because I would not want to
show it to anyone. The laminations are not cut very straight - inconsistent
thickness - if I had more wood to work with, I would have ran the
laminations through the planer - next time I will. The result is that the
total pinblock thickness is 5% to 10% epoxy and the rest quarter sawn hard
maple. Next one will be more wood and less epoxy, and look nice also. But
this one should work quite well!
>
> More good news:
> Epoxy-fit new block to plate flange. Too lazy to go out last night and buy
paste-wax to use as release agent. Sprayed a bit of McLube mold release
stuff on flange, applied epoxy to block and mushed into place. Dreamt about
taking a jack-hammer to the block to remove it from the plate. Just checked
it this morning and, after an initial fright upon seeing apparent
attachment, a couple gentle taps with a hammer and all was well - perfect
contact all along flange - and a removable pinblock. Yahoo!
>
> Question:
> OK, so now I have new block fit to plate perfectly. I have plate fit and
located to case with spacers around plate perimeter - can relocate plate
perfectly. Now I need to temporarily install block and plate to locate block
to case for a glue-and-dowel installation. When I temporarily install these,
block will be located to plate and plate will in turn be located to case.
How do I locate block to case so that I can remove plate and glue and dowel
block into its proper place? I know I could do it the stein-way and just let
the plate end up wherever, but I really don't want to give this piano THAT
much "personality".
>
> The only thing I can think of is to drill on an angle through the plate,
through the block and into the case at both ends of the block and locate the
block with a dowel. I know I could do it with some shims between block and
case sides and stretcher, but I fear you still might have enough play in
such an arrangement and end up with a less than perfect pinblock location.
>
> Any other great ideas? Or just get the drill out and run a dowel through
the whole mess and move on with it?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Terry Farrell
>
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
>