<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>Hi Julia,</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>When I used to shim a pin, with sand paper, I used to make a tube of the sandpaper, and slip it in the hole, grit side to the wood.</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>This is the first time I have heard of grit side to the pin.</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>If I do it now,because, I don't have an oversize pin, I will frequently use a bit of veneer.</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>One thing NOT to do is use these metal tuning pin bushings, that are sold by the supply houses. I still have them left from 1975, when I didn't know better, and bought some.</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>Regards,</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> <BLOCKQUOTE 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=Alpha88x@aol.com href="mailto:Alpha88x@aol.com">Alpha88x@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> Wednesday, June 16, 2004 1:16 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Weak pin block</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">Greetings, <BR><BR>           Up in piano tuning school, we were advised to lay the piano on it's back via a piano tilter and use CA glue, or the old formula of violin rosin mixed with alcohol as a tightening agent for loose pins.<BR><BR>           Also, if the situation is bad enough, a piece of 150 grit sandpaper could be cut in about a 3/8" wide strip, the length of which would be twice the circumference of the pin, folded in half width wise and wrapped around the pin and put back in the hole. The folding in half width wise, allows you would wrap the grit towards the outside of the pin and there will be grit surface towards the inside of the pin, so that the grip occurs between the pin and the block's hole and the pin and the inside of the sandpaper. <BR>           I never had to try it yet as I have only been tuning for a little over a year. It worked at school and I would try it if I had the need.<BR>Hope this helps.<BR><BR>Julia Gottchall,<BR>Reading, PA  </FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>