[CAUT] existing pinblock prep

[Fred Sturm]

	Well, the proof is in the pudding. I had a set of bass strings to put  
on a U-1, so I thought I'd try out the split dummy pin. Bottom line:  
not for me. I guess in part my imagination was expanding the amount of  
time it takes to pry a becket and pull off a coil. In fact, it takes  
maybe all of one second, and a little more for the very lowest bass  
strings. (On a grand, the lowest pins take a good bit longer because  
of the agraffes and the lack of space to work. For an upright, very  
little extra time). Add the time to pick up the needle nose pliers,  
and maybe it's two seconds a string. Not a lot of time to be saved  
there.
	But the act of prying actually speeds up getting the coil placed on  
the fixed pin (the one in the pinblock), because it deforms the coil  
just enough to get the becket bend over the pin. A nice, neat coil,  
slipped off the bottom of a split dummy pin, is a bit of a problem to  
get on the new pin. At least, I found it so. So any time gained in one  
operation is more than lost in another. And I found it troublesome to  
make a nice neat coil with the split pin, since the becket isn't held  
as firmly and solidly in the dummy pin (slot versus hole).
	Part of this is habit: I have done so many strings the same way, the  
motions are smooth and automatice, and learning new ones can slow  
things down. But I really see no potential for saving time and effort  
in the long run by changing. So I guess my split dummy pin will mostly  
collect dust in the bottom of my stringing box. Others may find it  
useful.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu



On Jul 28, 2008, at 7:54 AM, Fred Sturm wrote:

> Hmm, I can do that, but I'm not sure I want to do it 225+ times  
> during a whole restring, or even a partial restring. So I decided to  
> make a bigger one: cut .5" off the bottom of a pin, and sawed all  
> the way up to the becket. It's soft metal, so that's not so hard to  
> do, maybe a minute with a sharp hacksaw and vigorous technique  
> (start with a triangular file making a score for the blade to  
> follow). I sawed the kerf at a slight angle clockwise to the becket  
> hole, so I hit it with the edge of the kerf around the middle of the  
> hole. This leaves a little "slot" that holds the wire in place a  
> little more positively. And then you make a slight turn and it slips  
> down the slot.
> 	The hacksaw kerf wasn't wide enough for larger sizes of music wire  
> so I had to expand it. I used those metal sanding files Pianotek  
> carries, starting with the flexible and moving on the the stiff one.  
> That expanded the slot enough to allow a wire to slide freely (a bit  
> of work). And then ground the corners smooth so it will turn freely  
> between finger and thumb. Now that I think of it, I remember a local  
> colleague showing something very similar many years back, and me  
> thinking "that's a heck of a lot of work just to be able to slip a  
> coil, when I can pry it in very little time." But restringing a  
> whole piano, that little bit of time saved per coil will add up.
> Regards,
> Fred Sturm
> University of New Mexico
> fssturm at unm.edu

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