<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><BR><DIV><DIV>On Dec 4, 2006, at 6:11 PM, Ken Zahringer wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><FONT face="Garamond"><SPAN style="font-size:14.0px; font-family: Garamond; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14px; ">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.</SPAN><BR style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14px; "><BR style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14px; ">Ken Z.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>We have 18 Steinway grands from the late 60's to 1978. All the blocks are fine - in many cases better than many of our '94 models, but in our mostly humid environment we have some badly corroded wire. Also, inadequate budgets, lack of space and proper tools don't allow for pinblock replacements right now, so we have to get as much bang for our buck as we can and restring with larger pins. (I don't know if having only 1 Steinway that predates teflon makes us more or less fortunate.)</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Yes, I would have thought the electric drill would have created more heat. I'd always backed the pins out with hand tools before. But the high speed drill backed them out in a fraction of a second each. There simply wasn't time for the friction to create as much heat. On the other hand, if it had been a slower speed drill, I expect the temp would have been higher.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>I learned something too!</DIV><DIV>Jeff</DIV><BR><BR><DIV> <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV>Jeff Tanner, RPT</DIV><DIV>University of South Carolina</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN> </DIV><BR></BODY></HTML>