Steinway "pinning" dilemma

[Jim Busby]

List,

I forgot to put that I don't believe in checkering the tails because it
tears up the backchecks. If the proper regulation is achieved i.e.
angles etc. "checkering" is unnecessary, IMHO. I think they have to
rough the tails to force the action to work properly.

Jim Busby RPT
BYU

-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of
Jim Busby
Sent: Saturday, September 27, 2003 12:12 PM
To: College and University Technicians
Subject: Steinway "pinning" dilemma

List,

I am NOT bashing here...I love Steinways, but I have a dilemma. (BTW, I
just finished prepping and tuning 12 "out of the box" 1098's and they
are indeed wonderful instruments! None of the former problems.)
(Hurray!)

Here is a new question concerning pinning on the 8 new grands I have. (2
D's, 3 B's, 2 M's, and an S.) Hammer flange pinning is around 1-2 grams!
(From 20 to 37 swings) I was ready to repin, since they simply don't
check without roughing the tails (which I believe shouldn't be the
solution) Steinway says that they have a new flange design to try to
"totally", as far as possible, reduce friction there. They advertise it
as "permafree" (scary) because of the Teflon impregnated into the
bushing cloth. They say that as long as there is no side play 37 swings
is OK. But is it???

You can make the action work by making sure rep. spring is not too
strong and by periodically roughing the tails, but conventional wisdom
says we need proper friction in the right places to make an action feel
and work correctly. Right?? Any thoughts on this? 

Since they are under warranty I will do as I was taught at Steinway, but
my gut feeling is to repin the rail, lighten the hammers, etc. to
achieve proper touchweight, and spend the next ten years working on
pianos that feel "right" to me. 

I've consulted with 2 other techs who are top notch by any standard and
they totally agree with me. However, two Steinway techs say their system
works. How do I justify the two seemingly opposing systems and make the
pianos work to my standards without bucking Steinway? Have any of you
faced this yet?

Thanks,
Jim Busby RPT
BYU