<HTML><HEAD> <META charset=UTF-8 http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charse= t=utf-8"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2730.1700" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fffff= f"> <DIV> <DIV>In a message dated 12/17/2003 8:12:24 AM Pacific Standard Time, Piannam= an@aol.com writes:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue = 2px solid"><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000= ff 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" TYPE="CITE"><BR><FONT face=Arial size= =2>Hi all, <BR><BR>I know this is a no-no for long term use, but is turnin= g the front rail pins likely to do any lasting damage to key mortises? &nbsp= ;I've done it before on old uprights where the cost of new key bushings is d= ouble the value of the piano. <BR><BR>I'm working on a 20 year-old Baldwin 7= footer tomorrow where there is too much play in the bushings, yet the bushi= ngs are seem to be in good condition.  This would be a stop-gap measure= until the clients are ready to spring for a new set of key bushings, which = I will try to talk them into. <BR><BR>Just wondering, fire extinguisher in h= and <BR><BR>Dave Stahl </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000040>    =  <FONT size=4>     Hi Dave</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000040 size=4>  I couldn= 't resist getting my two cents worth in on this. We do a lot of key </FONT><= FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000040 size=4>bushings. I often fol= low these jobs & I have tracked the longevity of a new set of bushings a= s for closeness of fit. It's surprising how quickly hard to medium usag= e pianos can end up with key bushing slop only after 1 to 4 years. So I= say I agree with the 20% rule. Turn the pins. Otherwise we'd be changi= ng bushings to fast and ultimately the key mortises suffer degradation. I be= lieve the more permanent solution is using leather but haven't gotten there = yet. I've seen leather as old as 100 years or more still tight & free.</= FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000040 size=4>  On last = thing is you DO NOT want to turn bushings in Yamaha's & other oriental p= ianos that have the elliptical profiled pins that runs the entire pin length= . If one does this it ruins the hole as they can't be turned back later with= out the pin fit becoming sloppy.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000040 size=4>  Merry Ch= ristmas--Dale Erwin</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>