[CAUT] Wurlitzer Iron Pinblock - Anyone ever restring one of thesethings?

[Clarence Zeches]

Years ago I had an upright with these pins.  I was going to restring it until I realized what the system was.  It was amazing that the tuning pins were very tight.  I think if you back out (down on a grand) the screw a little to loosen the tuning pin then put the new string in and do your normal wraps, then tighten the screw up again it will work.  The stringing would be like a normal string replacement with the tuning pin already in the piano.  I have no idea to the amount of time to restring one.

Clarence Zeches
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Kendall Ross Bean 
  To: 'College and University Technicians' 
  Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2008 10:49 PM
  Subject: [CAUT] Wurlitzer Iron Pinblock - Anyone ever restring one of thesethings?


  I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience restringing one of these, or has any tips, advice or suggestions. (Yes, I have one I am attempting to restring....)

  The subject is a 7' Wurlitzer grand from the 1920's. It has the unique tuning pins that have conical bottoms that are wedged by screws against the cast iron plate web. 

  (See attached photo:)  



  (The picture is of the upright configuration. Turn it 90 degrees clockwise and you will have the grand I am working on.) 

  The plate web is very thick (15/16"), and substitutes for the usually pinblock.

  Since the tuning pins are inserted into the web/block from the underside, and are then wedged in place by the screw, I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas how these might have been strung at the factory, or how one might go about restringing one, since you can't simply wind the coil on the pin in the normal way and then just stick it in the block.

  Any ideas, advice, or experience you could share would be most appreciated. Or if anyone can point me to anything in the archives....

  (The pins and block are still in excellent condition, and the design seems to work quite well. The screw behind the tuning pin will give a fairly wide latitude of pin torques, based on how much the screw is tightened. There is some kind of graphite grease or lubricant on the pin where it contacts the iron plate. The pins seem to be nickel plated. I think this design might have been intended originally as a tropicalizing measure.)

  It's actually quite a nice piano. -Sort of a loose copy of a Steinway model B. So I thought it would be worth restoring. (Except the plate, of course, is a lot heavier, -on the front end.)

  I have also run into other Wurlitzer grands of the period with a similar tuning pin setup. Also very nice pianos. Evidentally back in the day they made some serious grands. (Or somebody made them for Wurlitzer. The action on this grand has Apollo written on it in pencil....)

  Please let me know if anyone has had experience (good, bad, or indifferent) with one of these. 

  Thanks,

  Kendall Ross Bean

  PianoFinders
  www.pianofinders.com
  e-mail: kenbean at pianofinders.com
  phone: (925) 676-3355

  Connecting Pianos and People
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