More wood, less pin. was Re: Strings riding up (was Tuning stability)

[Ron Nossaman]

>There has been a lot of discussion about tapping the pin to create better 
>tone, less distortion, etc. But what are we doing? Is the better 
>termination caused because by tapping we are driving the pin deeper into 
>the wood at the bottom of the hole, thus creating a more stable pin,

Partly, but I think mostly dragging the string down with the pin to the 
notch edge.


>or are we shortening the tip that sticks out, lessening the flag poling 
>effect?

Not a factor. The string supplies the mass for the flag poling, not the top 
of the pin.


>On a Yamaha upright recently I tapped the pins, and wound up driving them 
>down below the level of the strings. I had to release tension, and put the 
>pin back in, but it didn't bottom out. It almost makes me wonder if this 
>might be the case in other pianos.

I don't know about anyone else's, but it's the case in mine. I drill the 
holes just deeper than the pin will reach. Don't see much point in 
bottoming the pin when it isn't going to stay there anyway.


>So what is the real reason for tapping? More wood, or less pin?

Or seating the string by proxy?

Ron N