Hi. several people have asked me how I replaced the pinblock in that player. This might have not have been the best way, And I hope the piano don't "pop" when pulled to pitch so here goes. I will have to give Foster & Co a big fat "F" for the pinblock in that unit. It consisted of nothing but 6" wood scraps glued together 18 pieces in all I think. I got out the saw, chisel and jigsaw and cut the thing out of there. there wasn't much written instructions that I could find, so I was on my own, integrating grand pinblock replacement instructions when possible. Also Craig Bougher was very helpful with lots of solid advice. The first thing I did using shims, bolts and 2X12's I bolted these to the back, and put the piano down on a concrete floor. I thought once the block was out, the back might become "wobbly", so I wanted the back to remain square. The plate did have a flange, but the pinblock didn't contact it. instead, the pinblock stuck out above the soundboard then a small maple strip was tacked to the top of the soundboard, to meet the flange.(the earmark of a cheap piano) I made a new strip, and mated the plate flange with the strip. then mated the top of the strip where it contacted the pinblock. The old block was 2X1/2" x 9" the old block was three ply. the thickest replacement I could find was 1X1/2", so I glued a 3/4" piece of rock maple behind that and glued it to the back of the replacement block. The top of the soundboard was notched, sort of like tongue and groove flooring. I had to rout a matching surface in the bottom of the replacement pinblock. that was the most difficult part, next time I am faced with a job like that, I think I will cut the old block 1" above that area, leaving it intact, and mate the replacement block ABOVE the cut! I fitted the block in the old back, trimming, & praying and cursing the whole while, wondering if perhaps I shouldn't be doing this type of job at all.( I really felt out of my league) Finally I got the thing to fit. Next, I put the plate back in to see if there was room enough to locate four lag bolts in the block, and through the back beams so that the bolts would not be in the way of tuning pins or plate screws. there was. Next, I epoxied the pinblock in the piano, using "c" clamps and pipe clamps to hold it firmly toward the top of the soundboard. I didn't drill the places for the lags yet, feeling that they might pull the block sightly away from the notches at the top of the soundboard. if that happened, the block would rock during tuning, and the piano would be unusable! I am sure that epoxy filled some 'sins" in that area. God help the fellow that ever has to remove it! Frankly I didn't trust my judgement so I used the epoxy for some insurance. To make sure that the block didn't pull forward years after I am gone, I then countersunk some lag bolts in the block right into each back beam, after the epoxy had set. They were also countersunk in the back beams, so I made some wooden plugs to glue into the back beams to hide them.(I hate a repair that looks "repaired") Next I put the plate in and drilled the holes for the screws. I then covered the whole area above the flange with chalk and put the plate back in and turned the screws down tight, removed it once again, and sanded the high spots down on the face of the block so the plate could make good contact with the face of the block. Now comes the drilling of the tuning pins. I constructed a "shelf" above the top of the piano, and give it a 7 Degree angle. there is enough room for the base of the drill press to rest below the top. Now I drilled the pins, taking it very slowly because if the bit ever became hot, There would be a loose tuning pin after all that work! Did it work? well I am not sure yet. I still have to shim and refinish the soundboard. Once that is done, On the final installation of the plate, I intend to put a small amount of epoxy on the flange to make sure I will get firm contact. the piano should be better than new, because there is almost double the pinblock area that originally. Not something I want to do everyday! Best Regards Andy & Chris Taylor "The Lone Arranger" Tempola Music Rolls "Taylor Made" Just For You http://home.swbell.net/tempola/index.htm
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