Oversize pins in a doped block

[Joe And Penny Goss]

Hi Mike.
I have turned untunable treated with pin-dope pianos into tunable
instruments.
One was a bird cage that had been treated twice by me with G------'s and
would not hold. Treated it with thin CA with the piano on it's back. Holds
fine now.
The reason that medium or thick would work better in your case is that the
thin would be too runny with the tuning pins out. So my reccomendation, if
you try to avoid replacing the block, would be to use a hammer shank and
swab a little glue to coat the inside of each hole.
Joe Goss
imatunr@srvinet.com
www.mothergoosetools.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike and Jane Spalding" <mjbkspal@execpc.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2002 6:47 PM
Subject: Re: Oversize pins in a doped block


> Patrick, Don, Joe, Joe, Dave, and Hans,
>
> Thanks much for your varied points of view.  While it's not my preferred
solution, I am committed to restringing without replacing the pinblock.
Pinblock replacement knowledge and skills are not the problem, budget is the
problem.  30 year old Story & Clark baby grand.  What is it worth?  What
would it be worth if restrung with a new block?  Does not compute.  I
believe I am trying to provide the best service under the circumstances,
keeping the best interest of the customer in mind.
>
> Trying to synthesize all of your experiences into some guidelines for this
job:
>
> 1.  Doped blocks can grip a pin tight enough to shear it off.  Therefore I
should not increase the pin size a) as much as for a healthy block or b) at
all.  The original pins felt very tight, but grabby, when I removed them.
They are .272 diameter.
>
> 2.  Joe Goss, you said that CA can "counteract" the effect of the
glycerine.  Could you elaborate?  Are you talking about making it
tighter/looser, or tuning feel, or what?
>
> I went to the archives and found Joe Garrett's description of pre-soaking
the bushings before installation, which I would like to try.  Joe, how
critical is the fit of the pin to the inside diameter of the bushing?
>
> thanks
>
> Mike Spalding RPT
>
>