Front Rail Keypin Alignment Reality Check

[A440A at aol.com]

Ric writes:
<< A piano that has had pins bent, and then you do nice brand new 

bushings... may more then likely require having the majority of pins 

bent back to their original status.

          So... if you are persnickety enough to get into this... straighten 
all 

key pins before rebushing... in all directions. >>


          Umm,  I believe most pianos have the final key spacing (by bending 
pins), done in the factory to compensate for less than perfect pin placement 
and mortise locations.   I'm no mathematician, but changing all pins that are 
not straight would seem to automatically undo this original compensation, and 
the odds of getting proper spacing by bending pins before rebushing seem slim.  
I suppose any pin that had been bent after the piano had a lot of wear on it 
could be corrected this way, but it doens't seem plausible that someone would 
be bending many pins to space  keys with a lot of side to side play already in 
it. . 
     I much prefer to do what straightening,(or bending) after the bushing 
job. That way, only the ones that need to be moved are moved. 
Regards, 
Ed Foote RPT 
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
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