<< my worst fear is a crack in the pin block in the affected area, which if true, obviously needs to be repaired prior to re-stringing. << I cannot remember the last time I saw a cracked STeinway pinblock. The holes get loose, and every now and then you will see a loose bit of the bottom of the lamination, but a crack? Not often. >>we need to make sure the pin block is absolutely dry before condemning it. Then, I plan to remove the offending pins to (maybe?) permit further drying - and try replacing them with slightly larger (or at least inserting a sleeve) to see if I can get the piano to hold pitch on those spots. << I would advise against the sleeve, and why wait? I would take the pins out, right now, and let it sit at least a week. Then, depending on what a 3/0 pin feels like, I would probably swab the holes with very thin penetrating epoxy, let that set, and then restring with the best feeling pin. >>If all goes well, I can proceed with the string replacement and rust cleanup. If not, I suppose we're looking at a pin block replacement. >> Depends on how many band-aids you want to try. If there are only three bad pins, I could see plugging the holes and redrilling them before a complete pin-block replacement. Would the money be better spent on action work ? REgards, Ed Foote RPT http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
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