Pinblock Repair.

[Warren Fisher]

Wimblees@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 97-01-22 12:09:50 EST, you write:
>
> >Piano is an old Kimball Baby Grand.  Not worth the cost of replacing the
> >pinblock.  Pinblock is cracked in a group of about 20 pins at the low end of
> >the treble section.
> >Dick
> >Marshall, M
>
> Dick
>
> I have done this repair a couple of times, and desribed it some time ago on
> the list.
>
>  I use impact resin. This stuff is used for fibergalss boat hull repairs, so
> you should be able to find it there. Also plastic manufacturing companies
> have this stuff.
>
> Remove the action and shore up the bottom of the pin block with a piece of
> plywood. Between the plywood and the bottom of the pin block put a sheet of
> wax paper and  a piece of felt. The wax paper keeps the resin from adhearding
> to the felt, and the felt fills in the gaps and holes.
>
> Remove the pins in the area affected. Ream out the holes with a 22 caliber
> gun reamer. Put this on a drill and work the reamer in and out, to remove
> rust and loose wood. Fill the pin holes about halfway with the impact resin
> solution, and drive in pins 1 size bigger than came out. Let this sit for
> about 2 days.
>
> Willem Blees RPT
> St. Louis

Dear Dick and Wim

We do something very similar but we finish up different.  The
preparation is very similar with wax paper then plastic sheet and then
felt and plywood.  The whole pin block area is covered, because this
thin epoxy will follow the cracks wherever they go! The holes are not
reamed but completely filled with the epoxy and left to dry.  When you
return drill the block just like it was a new one (7 degree angle) and
drive in 2/0 pins!  Since this fills in and restores the pinblock in a
much larger area than where you pulled pins, you can give a reasonable
warranty on the repair!  The best fix would be to pull all the pins and
restore the whole block.  If you are restringing, it just makes sense to
nail down the whole area to eliminate future problems. Ken Eschete, who
developed this procedure for restoring one hundred twenty-five year old
Broadwood screw-stringers from England has better than fifty of these
still holding their design string pressure after ten to fifteen years.
Best of all, the hammer feel is very similar to a Baldwin pin block.
Better yet, there is a TON of profit in it!

Enjoy!

Warren
--
Warren D. Fisher
fish@communique.net
Registered Piano Technician
Piano Technicians Guild
New Orleans Chapter 701