CA - Loose Pins

[Susan Kline]

At 10:16 PM 4/10/2004 -0400, you wrote:
>Hi,
>   I have several pins in a couple of different places,that need 
> attention.The piano doesn't  get enough use to replace block at this 
> time,and instead of using oversized pins,of shims,I thought I might try 
> the CA glue method.
>Best,
>Hazen Bannister
>Clemson University

I have done this to a Steinway A and a few assorted grands and uprights 
which had marginally loose pins, but for whom block replacement didn't make 
sense.

I use the least I can, and always have had good results. First, coming to 
the piano, I see which individual strings went out the worst since I last 
tuned. They get a little CA put right on the tuning pin where it enters the 
plate bushing. Then I take the corner of a towel and sop up any extra. I 
wait a few minutes, then move the pin. Once in awhile I add a little more 
later, but usually this is all it takes. Using this little, I never have 
had it soak through to the bottom of the hole. After putting cardboard 
between the pinblock and the stack several times, which never had anything 
drop onto it, I stopped worrying.

If any other strings seem unstable or feel loose as I'm tuning, I'll give 
them a few drops. The ones which tend to need it are the lowest couple of 
strings in the bass, and the crowded section in the tenor, and a few notes 
in the first capo area. I think that lubricant added to the threads of the 
lowest plate screw sometimes migrates to the first tuning pin area. Why a 
few pins in octave 5 tend to be loose I don't know. Perhaps the constant 
tuning, retuning, and pounding, and re-retuning gets them looser than the 
pins in other areas.

Coming back weeks or months later, I check unisons when I first arrive 
again. Now and then,  I've added CA to a couple more notes, (close to the 
first ones) but usually I haven't needed to. The CA is shiny when dry, so 
one can usually see where it has been used before, by a shine next to the 
treated tuning pin.

I like Quicktite by Loctite, in the .18 or .36 oz. (5 or 10 gm.) size. It 
has a long narrow spout, and a little needle in the cap, and it slips into 
my kit right next to the small bottle of Elmer's. One bottle usually lasts 
me two or three months. I use it, I estimate, several times a week, but 
usually only a few drops at a time. It's handy for a variety of jobs. It's 
usually nearly gone before it seizes up in the bottle. Be sure to replace 
the cap right away, since humidity is the enemy of CA shelf life.

Good luck with your pinblock. I think you'll much prefer CA to shims, 
oversized pins, glycerin and alcohol flooding, etc. It just doesn't damage 
the pinblock like the other methods, and it helps rather than harms the 
firmness of the neighboring tuning pins. Since CA is water-thin, it can 
follow cracks and appears to stabilize them. Using bigger pins just worsens 
cracking and separations.

Regards,

Susan Kline

P.S. If using a lot more than I do, as most other tuners seem to, 
VENTILATION!!!!