Gulbranson Console & Knabe Grand Qs

[Dave Nereson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andrew & Rebeca Anderson" <anrebe@zianet.com>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, July 02, 2004 5:54 PM
Subject: Gulbranson Console & Knabe Grand Qs

> The next piano that day was a Knabe 6' grand and quite a joy to bring
> 25cents plus up to pitch.  It had four/five pins at the bottom of the bass
> driven so the coils were all the way to the plate.  I CA glue treated them
> and some notchy pins at the high treble.  I'm wondering if it is possible
> to ream the holes a little and shim with sand paper without breaking the
> coils.  I'm thinking of loosening the tension on those strings and then
> driving the pin out from the bottom.  Problem is, is it possible to drive
> it back in with shims?  Or can those heavy bass strings be unwound from
the
> pin and reinsterted without breakage?
>
> Be-quavered in New Mexico
> Andrew

     Seems like driving the pin out the bottom would unnecessarily widen the
bottom of the hole.  Usually the pin can be backed off enough to where the
coils are loose but not yet distorting or twisting the becket (the bend of
the wire where it enters the pin).  Then pluck the becket out of the pin
with needle nose pliers and pull it off the pin with a stringing hook, or
leave it on the pin and back the pin out with a T-handle or ratchet or even
a tuning pin socket in a drill -- use a variable speed one with slow rpm.
Sometimes when backing out with the coils still on the pin, the wire will
"find" the hole in the pin again and get caught and break off, so watch it.
    Then do your shimming or reaming and turn or drive the pin back in.
    If the becket does break, you can insert a screwdriver through the coils
and pull carefully towards yourself with both hands to unwind the coils,
then make a new bend.  You won't have 3 coils any more, but the only
alternative is splice or new string.
    I thought driving pins out the bottom was only for broken pins that
can't be extracted any other way.  There's a danger of separating the bottom
pinblock lamination if it's not supported on the edges of the hole.
    --David Nereson, RPT