Well, last night I tuned my first (for sure) pin block doped piano. 1926 Cable upright - much better than average condition - grandmother bought it new. Bass restrung about 15 years ago. The tuning pin collars were black, and some dark tarry-looking goop was on plate in tuning pin area (likely doped at time of bass restring). And EVERY pin was REAL MUSHY! A bit hard to tune - seemed like you needed a new hammer technique. It felt like someone put a thin collar of neoprene around each tuning pin. Torque was typically pretty low, likely ranged from 20 to 50 inch-pounds (estimate). It just felt like notes were going to start creeping flat as I was driving home from the job. Is this a problem with doped pinblocks - creeping flat in short periods of time? Terry Farrell Piano Tuning & Service Tampa, Florida mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com
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