<pre style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 9pt; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', sans-serif; "><tt>Maybe if the tech is employed by the brand, and has tasted deeply of the Kool-Aid, the sense of torque could be distorted by allegiance, but I am not seeing these blocks as impressive in practice. Too much inconsistency after a few years to lay any claim to greatness. Regards, Ed Foote RPT </tt></pre><pre><tt>Ed</tt></pre><pre><tt> I find the same to be true. Jumpy popping pins. Variable torque. I think the problem stems from drilling </tt></pre><pre><tt>& then stringing </tt>protocols which contributes to this. Perhaps Rons double drilling method would help solve this. </pre> <div style="color: navy; font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS', sans-serif; clear: both; ">Dale Erwin R.P.T. Erwin's Piano Restoration Inc. Mason & Hamlin/Steinway/U.S. pianos www.Erwinspiano.com Phone: 209-577-8397 <tt><tt>     </tt></tt> </div> <div style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica; ">-----Original Message----- From: Ed Foote <a440a@aol.com> To: pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Mon, Oct 22, 2012 9:40 am Subject: [pianotech] Blocks <div id="AOLMsgPart_0_47a6dd70-907d-451f-b5bc-4ce0d6b9b65c" style="margin: 0px;font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Sans-Serif;font-size: 12px;color: #000;background-color: #fff;"> <pre style="font-size: 9pt;"><tt>Ok,I renamed it, Greetings, Re the "Hexagrip Pinblock", the site says, "The tighter the grip on> the tuning pins, the longer the piano stays in tune.">> If this is true, then why doesn't Steinway and Sons use something like Falconwood, where 200 in/lbs is an easy to get target? And, if this is true, why do so many Steinways have lower torque in the low bass than in the high treble? I have seen this repeatedly and one of these is a very expensive belly job from the Steinway Restoration Dept. I really think it should be reversed. Who on earth needs to wrestle 150 in/lbs in the top octave? Maybe it is a case of "why use finesse when brute force will do?" A competent tech can tune a 100 in/lb block as stably as a 150. Any experienced tech knows better than to give credibility to the idea of Hexagrip superiority. The material is as good as any, but the factory stringing so far down the line in quality compared to almost any other brand I have seen it is hard to know it. Dealer techs usually don't point out low torque pins, as long as the tuning holds, but if I think a problem is up the road, I sure do. Maybe if the tech is employed by the brand, and has tasted deeply of the Kool-Aid, the sense of torque could be distorted by allegiance, but I am not seeing these blocks as impressive in practice. Too much inconsistency after a few years to lay any claim to greatness. Regards, Ed Foote RPT <a href="http://www.piano-tuners.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html" target="_blank">http://www.piano-tuners.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html</a> </tt></pre> </div>  </div>