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<DIV> Well, I did it. 15 years in the business =
and I
finally broke my first tuning pin...um... I mean the pin broke. I =
was
restringing the bass on an old upright from...well, lets just say it's a =
family
heirloom. The pins were so loose that I used =
new
pins. I'm unsure of the size, they were in an old bag laying =
around.
More than likely I went from a #2 to a #4, but the =
holes were
loose, at least those that the owner didn't duct tape the pins in
with. Anyway, this one pin went in really tight. (I =
think it
was duct taped) I drove it in and when I went to tighten it and =
get my
coils right, the new pin snapped off at the becket hole. There is =
about
1/4 inch of pin sitting above the plate. I am familiar with 2 =
methods
of dealing with this. </DIV>
<OL>
<LI>Drill into the pin and use a broken screw extractor.</LI>
<LI>Carefully measure from the backside, drill into the back of the =
piano, and
drive the pin on through the back of the piano.</LI></OL>
<DIV>I opted for method #1. The pin drilled pretty easy. It =
actually
surprised me. The metal was softer than I anticipated. =
Unfortunately
the tuning pin was so tight that the threads on the screw extractor =
started
to strip. I then decided to file the sides of the pin so that =
I could
just grab it with my tuning hammer. Well....it still isn't =
budging.
As for method #2, I don't measure that close and I really don't want to =
leave a
hole in the back of the piano. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Since the pin drilled easier than expected, I suppose I could just =
drill it
out, plug the hole with hardwood, then redrill it. I would imagine =
that
this would be less visible. Any ideas gang? </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>thanks in advance.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Ron Shiflet</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>PS, just to give you an idea of the vintage of this piano, it =
has no
capstans or bridge pins. (I'm also wishing it didn't have tuning
pins.) The strings terminate over a brass bar/pressure bar system =
on the
bridge so it has no bridge pins. As for capstans, it uses a
wooden lever that raises up and down by a screw =
system. Well
anyway....</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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