Twist and Shout

[Delwin D Fandrich]

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  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Z! Reinhardt=20
  To: Pianotech=20
  Sent: February 13, 2002 9:34 AM
  Subject: Twist and Shout


  Yesterday was one of those days.  I was called in by a church to try =
to tune a piano that was notorious for not staying in tune.  What I =
found was all of the tuning pins standing so high in the pinblock that =
the bottoms of the coils were 10mm from the surface of the plate.  You =
read right -- 10mm, or 3/10 of an inch.  (Yes, I shot pictures of this, =
but I still have to get the film developed.  No, I didn't swear out =
loud, but it wouldn't surprise me if others before me had.)

  Pin torque was all over the map.  Some pins turned smoothly and didn't =
pose serious problems in being set.  Others were murderously tight.  =
Only one was bordering on loose.  What I'm wondering is, will pounding =
these pins to a proper height help bring about some sort of uniformity =
of torque or will it make the tight ones tighter still?

This was fairly common in the new Brand S pianos I was in charge of =
prepping during the 70s and early 80s. If the problem is severe enough =
it may require restringing with a new pinblock to really solve the =
problem. However, much good can be accomplished well short of that.=20

We made it a regular practice to clean up and tighten up the coils and =
level out the tuning pin height. We even made a simple little punch to =
reach in underneath the pinblock, find the bottom of the tuning pins =
that had been driven in so far that the string was resting on the plate =
surface and tap them up a bit. Once you're started it won't take all =
that long and it will make a substantial difference in tuning stability. =
The uneven torque will be bothersome but you can probably learn to live =
with it. Getting the pins level and the coils consistent will make a big =
difference.=20

You might check the diameter of those really tight ones. We sometimes =
found 3/0 and 4/0 pins stuck in there. If you find this, the best =
solution to this is to pull them, plug the hole and redrill for 2/0 =
pins.

Del

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