Ditch the tuning pin bushings

[Ron Nossaman]

>If you'll make a drawing of the S&S tuning pin arrangement as designed and
>installed, lo these past 100+ years, you'll find that there is just about no
>way to keep the pins from contacting the plate.

So it seems. I had assumed for a long time that that big pin back angle was
a head start on block compression, since it's so inevitable with this
block. It does indeed seem to be intentional, though I still don't think
much of the approach - which leads us to Baldwin. With their immortal and
incompressible granite block, the pins obviously don't need the plate to
stop them from rotating right out of the block. The plate's not much harder
than the block anyway. These are the pianos I have the most trouble with
when pins ride the plate because of, I think, the lack of resilience in the
block. I presume the Baldwin system is a combination of leftover "S&S me
too", and an unrealistic assessment of the relative merits of the new block
(IE: bury for three years, dig up and tune - boil and tune - place in
living room and be nearly untunable). I know they are drilling the plate
holes bigger now, which is long overdue and a positive move in my opinion. 


Ron N