<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <html><head><style type="text/css"></style><title>Re: Ditch the tuning pin bushings</title></head><body> <div><font face="Arial" color="#000000">Y'all</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" color="#000000"><br></font></div> <div><font face="Arial" color="#000000"><br></font></div> <div><font face="Arial" color="#000000">Dale wrote;</font></div> <div><font face="Arial" size="-1"><br></font></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1">My solution was to fully fit the block with a good plate fange contact</font></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1">and eliminate the bushing . .  tunes like a dream</font></blockquote> <div><font face="Arial" color="#000000"><br></font></div> <div>Bill wrote;</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" color="#000000">Back in the . . 70's . . 80's . . many people were putting plate bushings in</font></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" color="#000000">Steinways.  The word from Steinway at the time (and probably still is) was</font></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" color="#000000">exactly the same reasoning that you put forth here, Dale.</font><br> <font face="Arial" color="#000000"></font></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" color="#000000">My . . question  . . is how far the tuning pin coil ended up being</font></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" color="#000000">from the top of the pinblock . .  creates a bad "flagpole" effect.  Couldn't a well fitted</font></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" color="#000000">pinblock *and* good, hard maple plate bushings make an even better</font></blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" color="#000000">arrangement than simply one or the other?</font></blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>Ron N replied;</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite>Absolutely. Regardless of who says bushings are substitutes for pinblock<br> fitting, or that they are only for centering the bit while drilling, they do<br> affect the feel while tuning - positively, in my opinion. I vote for a good</blockquote> <blockquote type="cite" cite>block/flange fit, AND plate bushings (or dust covers, as Wim said).</blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>The tendency for tuning pins to engage with the plate as a result of pin block clearance with the plate flange, will 'show up' a poor fitting plank. I have found, as Dale noted, that a properly fitted pin block without bushes will exhibit excellent tuning stability. Unfortunately, many manufacturers allow pin blocks to be poorly fitted at the factory. Check the flange fit with a mirror and light - gaps abound all too often.</div> <div><br></div> <div>While I prefer to have bushings (with a good block fit as Ron N said), I like to have a clear stem of tuning pin showing above the bush, to a height the equivalent of the string coil height. I have educated my staff on the importance of this for ease of tuning. I get very testy when I encounter coils which are too close to the bush - particularly if they have come from my workshop. Not only will they be difficult to tune, but the tuning will tend to be less stable since the technician cannot utilise spring in the pin (slightly ie.) to better equalise the tension over the bearings.</div> <div><br></div> <div>One other advantage of bushings for commercial use pianos, is that when the inevitable wine or beer gets spilt onto the pinblock, the bushings tend to swell like wine corks. This invariably prevents the liquer from getting to the plank, allowing the block to be saved when the piano is restrung. Of course, if a 'pin bender' has been at the piano all will be lost. The block will 'tune' to drink in a big way. With a non-bushed plank piano - a block replacement will be inevitable.</div> <div><br></div> <div>I should be working. ' better go.</div> <div><br></div> <div>Ron O</div> <div><font color="#000000">-- <br> Overs Pianos<br> Sydney Australia<br> ________________________</font></div> <div><font size="-1" color="#000000"><br> Web site: http://www.overspianos.com.au</font></div> <div><font size="-1" color="#000000">Email:     mailto:ron@overspianos.com.au</font><font color="#000000"><br> ________________________</font></div> </body> </html>