<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: [CAUT] re-stringing Steinway D: pinblock preparation</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> That’s interesting, Jeff.  Maybe the mode of removal doesn’t make as much difference as I thought.  I have restrung without replacing the block only twice in the last 10 years or so, and both times I didn’t handle the pins until I had backed them all out, by which time they had apparently cooled off.  Both pianos still tune great, though.  There’s always something to learn out there. Ken Z. On 12/4/06 2:14 PM, "Jeff Tanner" <jtanner@mozart.sc.edu> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>On Dec 2, 2006, at 12:19 PM, Ken Zahringer wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>If you’re absolutely committed to keeping the original block, here’s my two cents worth: <OL><LI>Remove the old pins with a brace or ratchet, not an electric drill. It’s more work, but it keeps the heat down and won’t glaze the hole. </OL></BLOCKQUOTE>Ken, I'll have to take issue with this. Another technician here showed me exactly the opposite just recently. Removing the pins with a brace (or even a T-stringing hammer) got the pins so hot you couldn't hold them. The electric drill didn't give them time to get hot. They were warm, but you could hold them. Jeff   Jeff Tanner, RPT University of South Carolina </BLOCKQUOTE>-- Ken Zahringer, RPT Piano Technician MU School of Music 297 Fine Arts 882-1202 cell 489-7529 </BODY> </HTML>