cheap wood for bridges (was false)

[A440A@AOL.COM]

Inre false beats, I wrote:

<< >   This is about using cheap wood for bridges and their caps.  You have 
loose 
>bridge pins and they will produce false beats until replaced with larger 
>ones, or the holes have a treatment like CA or expoxy.   Angle of the pins 
>may be a factor in the durability of the wood, but I believe it is primarily 
>a materials problem
 
And Ron writes back:
>>Not necessarily. The same loose pinned false beats happen in the revered
"FinestKind" pianos of world renown.

uh huh,  and what is the point of this fact?  I have seen cheap maple used in 
otherwise "great" pianos. particularly some '60's-70's era Steinways.  
Restringing one of those automatically calls for removing the pins, 
renotching, and going up one size.      I have taken the strings off an old 
Mason and Hamlin, and there was barely a string groove in the bridge and the 
pins were very tight.  That is sorta a standard for me, I suppose. 

Ron again:
>>Poor quality soft cap material will
aggravate the process, but wide humidity swings will make pins loose in the
best cap.<<

 I guess this could start off with "Whadda ya mean by wide?".  I have seen a 
lot of very old pianos that have survived a lot of swings, and their bridge 
pins are tight.  The closest at hand is a 1893 Broadwood.  The pins are so 
tight, I would damage them to remove them.  
   I still think the grade of material is AT LEAST as important as any 
expected environmental range.  Actually,  I think it is more important, but 
we oughta save that for when we have a cold brew in front of us,  (remember 
this for the next convention-whoever doesn't change their mind has to buy the 
last round.....) 

And Ron WHACKS:
>>Also, I've gotta whack you about the oversized bridge pin
suggestion. DON'T DO IT!!! It increases the stagger angle, stresses the
wood, and accelerates the damage rate.  >>

    Ok,  we have a slight divergence of experience here.  Going to #8's does 
increase the stagger angle, but not by more than the amount of inherent 
descrepancy I  see in some high end pianos. (I do understand that adding more 
angle via increased diameters increases the stress on the bridge material, 
but is that not offset some by the increased surface area presented by the 
larger pin?) 
   I have repinned a lot of bridges with oversize pins,  and all of these 
pianos are still around me and working well.  I don't remember having had a 
repeat problem with any bridges that I have increased pin sizes in,  so Ron 
and I are going to be hanging onto opposite sides of this question for a 
while (:)}}.  
(I've been whacked for a lot less, though.!) 
REgards, 
Ed Foote RPT