Accu-just HPs in Steinway D :(

[Scott Thile]

Hello folks,

My summer rebuild project this year is the older of the two Steinway D's we
have in our main recital hall. I'm really glad to be rebuilding it, but
unfortunately it's had some nasty things done to it that will make it a
tough project, one of them being the retrofitting of accu-adjust (Baldwin
style) hitch pins. This, of course, means that the holes have been drilled
out larger to accept the little spring steel posts. They did a sloppy job of
it too. What a mess!

My original plan was to send this piano off to Steinway for the belly work
including a new plate, but we couldn't come up with the funds to do that.
I'm rebuilding it here (I try to rebuild a piano or two a year in house
anyway). A new plate is not an option, and yet, I would like to get it back
to the original style HPs. Any ideas? Anyone done this successfully? I
thought about silver solder, but I'm too worried about causing stress in the
plate from uneven heat (silver solder requires a bunch of heat). I've
thought about epoxy, but I'm just not sure how that will hold up over the
long run. Lately I've been thinking about either some sort of sleeve or
metal dowel epoxied into the oversized holes, but these would be a bit of a
pain to drill out. What kind of material could I get in the right size that
would also have the same basic metallurgy as the plate? I can't think of
anything. So far, epoxy seems like the best approach if it would hold up
ok....

If I can't get it back I can always leave the accu-adjust pins in there, but
who wants Steinwin? Actually, they also installed a M&H spider (tensioner).
I think I can repair that mess fine, although it will be a bunch of
woodwork. So I guess it's actually a Steinwin & Hamlin.

Why do people do these things??

Any advice on the HPs, especially from someone who has successfully dealt
with this, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Scott
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Scott E. Thile, RPT
Piano - Instrument Technician
Manager, Lovett Auditorium
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