Steinway defect

[Louis Verkoelen]

Hi list,

I serviced a 1997 Steinway "L" yesterday and encountered a defect. The lower
three tuning pins will not hold tension.
Here is some backround. The owner bought 3 of these in 1997 for her 3
houses. They have never been serviced. As soon as I moved these 3 pins they
dropped and will no longer hold. I checked for undersized pins being
accidently used. They are the same as the rest. The underside of the block
shows no sign of problems. I removed one of the pins and inspected the hole.
It shows no cracks or signs of contamination but it does show signs that the
pin is not making full contact with the hole.
In addition the hole in the block and plate do not line up. The back of the
hole in the block is actually under the lip of the plate hole. I did not
remove the other pins,(time issues) but here are my questions:

1. My gut feeling is that the block was not fitted up properly in the
factory and the hole has opened up because of the pressure on the pin by the
plate. Does this seem correct or am I missing something?

2. What is the warranty on this piano and who should I contact about it.

3. Short of a new pinblock, are there other solutions that would be
appropriate for this caliber of piano.

4. The other 2 pianos are in N. San Diego county. Is there anybody on the
list that covers this area and can service her other pianos? I am somewhat
concered that these pianos may have a similar problem and I would like to
make sure they don't.

Thanks in advance

Louis Verkoelen
PTG Associate
Big Bear City, CA