I would imagine the ends of tuning pins vary as much as the tips made to fit them. Jim Harvey used to claim that Kawai made the most accurate tip for tuning levers, but that was when he was a tech rep for Kawai. And maybe they did fit very well -- Kawai pins, that is. How many manufacturers of tuning pins have there been? Seriously -- does anybody know? When it comes to cast-iron plates, there haven't been that many -- Kelly and Wickham come to mind, and then the companies that cast their own. But tuning pins? Were there many or just a couple? Even if they're now defunct, we most likely still run into their pins in pianos. How many manufacturers are there now? Surely at least a few in Japan, Korea, China, and at least one or two (or five?) in Europe. What about here in the U.S.? I imagine Steinway makes their own -- or do they. It just seems that the shape of the tuning end of all those thousands of pins wouldn't be that consistent. Or is it? How accurate is the machining (or stamping?) of those tuning pin tips? I'll bet a tip that seems to have no rock in one piano would be wobbly in another, which would foul up the judging of these super-still tuning lever head/tip assemblies.
--David Nereson, RPT
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