Baldwin hitch pin replacement?

[Ron Nossaman]

>No new caps, bearing on tenor bridge is off as much as the bass bridge,
>decreasing to the treble but still about twice as much as needed up there.
>
>Jon Page


Hi Jon, just getting in here, and Brian asked the question I would have, so
I can get right to the ugly part. I get the impression you are thinking you
could install the vertical hitch pins and save yourself without having to
pull the plate, yes? Not an unreasonable thought, methinks, but consider
this. If you raise the hitch 1/4" in the bass and low tenor, the soundboard
will likely rise with the decreased load, and you might have to go higher up
the pin before everything balances at a bearing angle you like. That is, in
the bass, where the tails are relatively short. In the low to mid tenor, the
tails are probably nearly twice as long, and the ribs are longer, meaning
the board will probably rise more with the decrease in load than the bass
did. The longer tails means that the bearing angle changes more slowly as
you move the string up or down the hitch pin, so they'll probably be even
higher than the bass. You then get to decide if you want to leave the
bearing too heavy, the strings too high up the hitch pins for safety, or a
little of both. The treble's relatively easy. There's not much deflection
under load, and the tails are fairly short. I'd say go ahead and install the
pins. I'm using 0.193" dia. I thought Baldwin's choice was wonderfully
rigid, but took out too much plate for my peace of mind with retro fits. I
split the difference, and these seem to be adequately rigid, though I
haven't tried a side-by-side to verify. Then raise the plate to where it's
supposed to be, and everything will fall in real pretty with the strings low
on the pins where they should be for strength and rigidity.

But you already knew all that, you just didn't want to hear it, did you? <G>

Another possibility: if the pinblock is screwed in, and you can't pull the
plate without pulling the tuning pins, perhaps you could raise the tail of
the plate by pulling plate lags, threading plate holes, installing threaded
inserts, and resetting the height with 3/8 bolts available from Baldwin.
With care, and only minor blood loss, you should be able to do this with the
plate in (maybe?). Even if you can't get the extreme treble set exactly
where you want it this way, it's better than leaving it like it is, and
easier than re-restringing it.

BTDT Good luck, and let us know what you decide.

 Ron N