Pin Torque minimum standard?

[Richard Brekne]

BSimon999@AOL.COM wrote:

>  stan@pianoexperts.mb.ca writes:
>
> <<  I have established 50 in/lbs in the counterclockwise direction as the
> minimum standard
> for pin torque .  Below this and repair is recommended to the client.
> (anyone care to comment on this standard?)         Stan Kroeker >>

Personally I gotta kinda lean toward Stan on this. True enough you run into
pianos that are stable at lower torques then these, but I get the feeling thats
the exception and not the rule. Further pianos that have such low torque readings
usually do so for a reason. And that generally means there are other problems
lurking in the dust.  In any case... I start getting squeemish about tuning a
piano with such low readings, and definatly inform the customer of a pending
problem.

>
>
> I think 50 inch pounds as a minimum standard is far too high and is unfair to
> customers who, had they called another tuner, might not even have been
> apprised of a "problem" needing repair.
>
> I feel most pianos will easily stay in tune at the 50 in/lbs reading, or 40
> in/lbs, or 30 in/lbs. I have many customers whose pianos stay in tune at 20
> in/lbs, but at 20 they are on the edge of the cliff. I do not tune pianos
> with torque readings of below 15 inch pounds.  Very rarely, due to a
> particular piano's  friction points and type of player (how lightly they play
> ), I have seen pianos that were stable in the 12-15 inch/pound range, but
> never below that.
>
> Bill Simon

--
Richard Brekne
RPT, N.P.T.F.
Bergen, Norway
mailto:Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no