<div>Hardened stainless steel gets my vote.  Not only is it harder (he= nce more wear resistant), it is also considerably stiffer than titanium.&nb= sp; The more flexible titanium would bend more right where the pin enters t= he wood causing higher stress right where you don't want it.  The stai= nless steel would spread the force over greater depth into the bridge. </div> <div> </div> <div>Plus hardened stainless in these small diameters should be relatively = easy to make, hence cheaper, er..  less expensive than titanium.</div> <div> </div> <div>Steve Fujan (BSME, MSME, PE)</div> <div><a href="http://www.fujanproducts.com">www.fujanproducts.com</a> =  </div> <div>On 12/2/05, = Dean May <<a href="mailto:deanmay@pianorebuilders.com">deanmay@pia= norebuilders.com</a>> wrote: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0= px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">>>In other words, the smal= ler the hardness number the harder the steel. Ooops. That's backward= s. A softer material will have a bigger diameter dent and a smaller hardness number. A harder material will have a sm= aller dent and a bigger hardness number. I am suspect of the numbers= you are quoting, Ron. The little research I'm doing shows Vickers hardn= ess of mild steel at 140, Hardened steel at 900, and titanium at 970. Then on an ask the experts site someon= e asked the hardness ranking of various metals. Here is the answer: <= br>In General- and I have to qualify that by saying I'm considering the metals to be in the annealed condition, the aluminum is 1100 alloy, the= T6 (not annealed, but age hardened) aluminum is a 2000 or 7000 series<b= r>alloy, and the titanium is 6Al-4V alloy rather than the commercially pure stuff (6-4 is a lot more common than CP)- the order would be alumin= um, brass, bronze, T6 aluminum, mild steel, stainless steel, and titaniu= m. If the metals are in their hardest conditions, from heat treating or = cold work, the order would be aluminum, brass, T6 aluminum, bronze, titanium, mild steel, and stainless steel (cutlery grades). = (<a href="http://experts.about.com/q/2280/1021526.htm">http://experts.abo= ut.com/q/2280/1021526.htm</a>) Dean Dean May&= nbsp;            cel= l 812.239.3359 PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272 Terre Haute= IN  47802 -----Original Message----- From: Dean Ma= y [mailto:<a href="mailto:deanmay@pianorebuilders.com">deanmay@pianorebui= lders.com</a>] Sent: Friday, December 02, 2005 8:29 PM To: 'Pianotech' Subject: RE: = Bridge Pins, was Bridge Capping Materials: Ebony? Hardness in steel = is tested by machines that try to put a dent in it. The bigger the dent,= the softer the steel. The hardness number given is inversely proportional to the diameter of the dent left in the steel.<b= r> Check out <a href="http://www.gordonengland.co.uk/hardness/vickers.= htm">http://www.gordonengland.co.uk/hardness/vickers.htm</a> Dean<br= > Dean May           &= nbsp; cell 812.239.3359 PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272 = Terre Haute IN  47802 -----Original Message----- Fr= om: <a href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org">pianotech-bounces@ptg.org<= /a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org">pianotech-bounces@ptg= .org</a>] On Behalf Of Ron Nossaman Sent: Friday, December 02, 2005 5= :41 PM To: Pianotech Subject: Re: Bridge Pins, was Bridge Capping Mat= erials: Ebony? > Titanium probably does resist grooving better that what is= > usually used for bridge pins. I find a Vickers hardness of = 60 for titanium, and 98 for mild steel. Why would titanium "probabl= y" resist grooving better when it's a softer material? > I've thought about stainless, is it<br= >> harder than what we usually use?  Any other improvements to= consider? Go here. <a href="http://www.matweb.com/search/searc= h.asp">http://www.matweb.com/search/search.asp </a> Prospect to your heart's content. Ron N _________________= ______________________________ pianotech list info: <a href="http://ww= w.ptg.org/mailman/listinfo/pianotech">http://www.ptg.org/mailman/listinfo/p= ianotech </a> _______________________________________________ pian= otech list info: <a href="https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives">= https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives</a> </blockquote></div><br= >