CA vs Loose Pins

[Richard Brekne]

I couldnt aggree more with you. Nice posting. My experience concurs with your
statements. Lets face it.. half way is half way. Sometimes I guess thats all you
can convince a customer to go along with, and you are left with a choice.. do it
half way.. or walk away... grin.. you all know what I generally do..

Richard Brekne
I.C.P.T.G.  N.P.T.F.
Bergen, Norway

"Piesik, John (JPIESIK)" wrote:

> Dear List,
>
> Last month I requested info on CA glue for loose tuning pins. It's only fair
> that I report the results, especially to those who thoughtfully responded.
> And the results are: it worked, and it didn't work. It appears that, in my
> opinion, CA glue can pull you out of a "slippy" situation, sometimes. A
> couple of the pins I tried it on were so loose that the CA glue was not
> effective. Thus, I muted those strings that wouldn't tune, got my client
> through her Christmas party, and recommended that the next step is a
> replacement or rebuild.
>
> Now, following are some comments, my opinions, of course, regarding this
> matter:
>
> When a piano is in need of CA glue on more than a few tuning pins, it's in
> need of a lot more than just CA glue. I would not recommed CA gluing or
> doping an entire pinblock - I shudder at the thought - although, I know some
> folks do, and that's fine for them. I've learned that there are many ways to
> skin a cat in this business, but, to me, some cats are best left alone. (In
> order to buy a little more time in an emergency, on a few pins at best,
> then, CA glue may be the ticket. And, there are other ways to solve a loose
> tuning pin problem, too!) But, let's face it, doping an entire pinblock is a
> bandaid fix.
>
> It's a funny thing that in the last month I've encountered two more pianos
> (grands) that are not holding tension due to loose pins. I admit I CA glued
> two pins on a Yamaha gray-market piano to "buy some more time", but the
> other was just too far gone. In these cases, I recommended replacement or
> have them rebuilt (preferably with new PBs). It's apparent that I'm running
> into increasingly more pianos with "loose pin" troubles (are you?). I don't
> think that this is some kind of coincidence, either, and here's why. Many
> pianos were sold to/for boomers during the 50s, 60s and 70s. The condition
> of these pianos, coming from the historical height of US piano sales, due to
> the pianos ages, is now starting to deteriorate (the pianos are now over 30
> years old). I am not a rebuilder, but, I would bet dollars to donuts that
> the piano rebuilding business is going to see a flurry of new work in the
> very near future - if it hasn't already begun. And piano sales will continue
> to increase with even more vigor. (I would someday like to have a shop and
> become a rebuilder; it's very rewarding work. And, there are not enough good
> rebuilders - there seems to be plenty of room for more. The Aerospace
> industry has a similar problem with more talent leaving or retiring and not
> enough good talent coming in - but that's a whole other story.)
>
> Bandaids only hold for so long, then they fall off. Doping pinblocks is a
> bandaid. Our clients, and thus the piano industry as a whole, in my opinion,
> would benefit from either recommending a new piano or a rebuilt piano
> instead of applying a bandaid to a piano beginning its dying cough. It's up
> to us to gently guide our clients to the right decision. The fact is, all of
> us are going to be encountering more and more of these untunable pianos. Do
> we squirt CA glue into them and cross our fingers, or do we recommend a new
> purchase or a rebuild? The bandaid approach, I think, hurts everyone. The
> later recommendation has obvious benefits for our industry, at least in my
> mind.
>
> What do you think?
>
> Warmest Regards,
>
> John Piesik, RPT
> Piesik's Piano Service
> Oceanside, CA
> (760) 726-4665
> jpiesik@arinc.com
>
> P.S. As I'm not subscribed, please copy me in your response:
> jpiesik@arinc.com