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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=diskladame@provide.net =
href="mailto:diskladame@provide.net">Z!
Reinhardt</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> February 13, 2002 9:34 =
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Twist and Shout</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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?</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>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.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>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.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial =
size=2>Del</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>