Mark, There have been a number of systems patented over the years and a few actually put into production to eliminate the wooden pinblock. You might want to go to www.ptg.org and then follow the link to the US patent office. There are some great designs by Conklin as well as others. Allan Allan L. Gilreath, RPT Allan Gilreath & Associates, Inc. 515 Oothcalooga St., Suite I Calhoun, GA 30701 agilreath@mindspring.com -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of Mark Kinsler Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2004 12:10 AM To: pianotech@ptg.org Subject: pinblocks and materials Since my training is in electric power, I understand the conservatism in piano manufacturing and maintenance. The history of, say, plastics in piano building seems to have been one of unmitigated disaster. I'm fascinated with how well the wooden action parts function. There's really no better material for these. And the felt/polished-steel bearing surfaces in the action are equally interesting to a fan of mechanisms and materials. No lubricant needed, a bit of flexibility added to the works, nothing much to maintain. Marvelous. But I really wonder if the pinblock couldn't use some better engineering. The traditional laminated pinblocks are marvels of craftsmanship, but my reading of Reblitz' text makes it sound like they're an eternal cause of grief. Have other schemes been tried? I'm thinking of a brass block with tapered steel pins held tight by nuts underneath the block. Or a cast-iron pinblock with brass bushings and the tapered pins. I'm sure that this has been thought of many times. What were the problems? Were there ever plates that had an integrated iron pinblock cast into them? Mr Bullock's analysis of the failure of felt also led me to wonder if synthetic felts have ever been used for hammers or bearings. I believe that there are nylon and dacron felts. There's no great guarantee that these would be vastly more stable over sixty years or so than traditional wool felts, but perhaps they have been tried. M Kinsler _________________________________________________________________ Choose now from 4 levels of MSN Hotmail Extra Storage - no more account overload! http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200362ave/direct/01/ _______________________________________________ pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
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