<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Re: [CAUT] Tuning Pin Questions</TITLE> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.3354" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=280001500-09072008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Ken~</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=280001500-09072008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=280001500-09072008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Thanks for your elucidating and enlightening comments, and the wiki article reference.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=280001500-09072008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=280001500-09072008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I am starting to wonder, based on comments received from yourself, and other technicians on the listserve, whether the nickel-blued pins don't have some dye or color added to the threads to sort of add "sizzle to the steak" - if you know what I mean.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=280001500-09072008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=280001500-09072008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>It certainly doesn't look like the normal blueing process color, which is closer to a blue-black (Maybe "midnite blue?")</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=280001500-09072008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=280001500-09072008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>It's possible some technicians, when told they were blued pins, asked "where's the blue?" (Where's the beef?)</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=280001500-09072008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=280001500-09072008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>~Kendall Ross Bean</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=280001500-09072008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=280001500-09072008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>PianoFinders</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=280001500-09072008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><A href="http://www.pianofinders.com">www.pianofinders.com</A></FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=280001500-09072008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><A href="mailto:kenbean@pianofinders.com">kenbean@pianofinders.com</A></FONT></SPAN></DIV><BR> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left> <HR tabIndex=-1> <FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> Ken Zahringer [mailto:ZahringerK@missouri.edu] <BR><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, July 08, 2008 10:13 AM<BR><B>To:</B> College and University Technicians<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [CAUT] Tuning Pin Questions<BR></FONT><BR></DIV> <DIV></DIV><FONT face=Garamond><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14px">Bluing is actually a chemical treatment.  The steel is immersed in a water-based chemical solution at or near the boiling point.  The hot solution promotes the chemical reaction, but it isn’t hot enough for the heat itself to do anything to the steel.  Look at <A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluing_(steel)">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluing_(steel)</A> for a good description of the process.<BR><BR>There have been “cold blue” products on the market for some time.  Gun owners commonly use them for touch-up.  As I understand it, these products produce the same chemical reaction on the surface as hot blue, just not as effectively since they operate at room temperature.  I always figured the pin blue stuff that Schaff sells was this sort of thing, but I have never used it.  I have no clue what the heck in on the nickel/blued thread pins.  That’s a color not found in nature.<BR><BR>Regards,<BR>Ken Z.<BR><BR><BR>On 7/8/08 11:40 AM, "Fred Sturm" <fssturm@unm.edu> wrote:<BR><BR></SPAN></FONT> <BLOCKQUOTE><FONT face=Garamond><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14px">Ah, but is that blue color on the threads of the nickel plated pins actually "bluing" or just a dye?Real bluing is a heat treatment, yes? I think we've all seen the Wurlitzer style "bluing" (a dye painted on the pins and dripping onto coils and sometimes plate), and I remember being able to purchase the stuff (probably ink). I am not convinced that tuning pins we get today are ever blued (true blued?) after threads are cut. So the treatment is only cosmetic, for the part of the pin that sticks out of the block, and doesn't affect the threads (hey, I could be wrong, but that color on those threads makes me awfully suspicious). <BR>I used to get some pins from Schaff that actually did seem to be "true blued" on the entire surface of the pin after threads were made. The threads were a bit deeper than what we get today. I don't know if those are still available.<BR><BR>Regards,<BR>Fred Sturm<BR>University of New Mexico<BR></SPAN></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE><FONT face=Garamond><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14px">        fssturm@unm.edu<BR><BR>-- <BR>Ken Zahringer, RPT<BR>University of Missouri<BR>School of Music<BR></SPAN></FONT></BODY></HTML>