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<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>That's me reading things in the middle of the
night.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>It read like doing them all at
once.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>I still say that the metal sleeve is not a valid
fix. Veneer or sandpaper are valid shim material. </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>I think that the C/A has passed pinblock restorer
as a recommended fix, as well</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV>John M. Ross<BR>Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada<BR><A
href="mailto:jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca">jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca</A></DIV>
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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=ilvey@sbcglobal.net href="mailto:ilvey@sbcglobal.net">David
Ilvedson</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, December 29, 2007 2:40
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Mason and Hamlin A, circa
1909: What to do with loose tuning pinsinbass...</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV align=left>I think he was giving all the possible quick
fixes...<BR><BR>David Ilvedson, RPT<BR>Pacifica, CA 94044<BR><BR>
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style="PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 3px solid; PADDING-TOP: 5px">
<HR>
Original message<BR>From: "John Ross"
<JRPIANO@WIN.EASTLINK.CA> </JRPIANO@WIN.EASTLINK.CA><BR>To: "Pianotech
List" <PIANOTECH@PTG.ORG> </PIANOTECH@PTG.ORG><BR>Received: 12/28/2007
9:59:47 PM<BR>Subject: Re: Mason and Hamlin A, circa 1909: What to do with
loose tuning pinsinbass...<BR><BR>
<DIV align=left><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>I can't believe it, so I had to read
it twice.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>Who in their right mind, still uses those metal
sleeves.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>I bought some in the 70's to try.
</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>Tried them, determined they were not a valid
fix, so never used them again. </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>I might even still have them
someplace.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>Then again, on reading the message once again,
it doesn't make sense. It suggests four fixes?</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV>John M. Ross<BR>Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada<BR><A
href="mailto:jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca">jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca</A></DIV>
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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=bunkypiano@aol.com href="mailto:bunkypiano@aol.com">bunkyaol</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, December 29, 2007 1:27
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Mason and Hamlin A, circa
1909: What to do with loose tuning pins inbass...</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Obviously pin block, remove strings by keeping tension on
them as you spin them out...ca & pin block restorer and metal sleeves,
oversize all the bass pins, re install and tune, remove original
bend....you've got a pin block to replace but this may give you a few years,
maybe not if it's delamed or split, good luck.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>tom mc</FONT></DIV>
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style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=piannaman@aol.com
href="mailto:piannaman@aol.com">piannaman@aol.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, December 28, 2007 10:47
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Mason and Hamlin A, circa
1909: What to do with loose tuning pins inbass...</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hi All,<BR><BR>I worked on
a 1909 M and H today, and the piano was in almost pristine
condition. It is an absolutely wonderful piano. The action
plays great, hammers are in excellent shape, the strings have very few
"false" beats. The only problem is the pinblock. The wire
sections are okay, but the bass has probably 20 loose pins. Most of
the low bass pins are loose.<BR><BR>I would like to remedy this.
Even though it should be able to hold tune for the short term, they won't
be stable for any length of time. Here are the choices as I see
them:<BR><BR>1). CA that section of block. I really don't want
to do this on this particular piano, even though it would be the quickest
fix. <BR><BR>2). Replace bass tuning pins. This is a
good option, imho, with the drawback being brittle beckets breaking (say
that ten times in a row....). Replacing individual strings on a
piano of this age will compromise the even and beautiful tone that the
piano has. Tying broken strings with thick cores can be challenging,
too.<BR><BR>3). Replace all strings and pins. In the long run,
I think this is the best option. They certainly could afford
it.<BR><BR>4). Insert your thoughts here, please.<BR><BR>I'm going
to leave things as they are for now, and check on it again in 6 months or
so to see how things are holding.<BR><BR>A side note to this: when I
told the family that their piano would be 100 in a couple of years, one of
the little girls started to get all excited about having a birthday party
for it!<BR><BR>Thanks for reading,<BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV style="CLEAR: both">Dave Stahl<FONT
face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </FONT><BR>Dave Stahl Piano
Service<BR>dstahlpiano.net</DIV>
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