Hi Terry, I agree tuning pins appear to become "loose" under low humidity conditions sometimes. There are exceptions--in particular the old Canadian Bell pianos appear to become loose under high humidity--or else don't change much at all. I still remember with some embarressment telling an owner of one Bell that the torque on the tuning pins would go up, and when I measured it a year later--it was lower. I believe it has to do with how the pinblock is installed and what material it is--is it a multilaminate or a solid block? I think multilaminate blocks feel looser because while the hole is getting smaller the wood fibres that create the resistance to turning are *also* getting smaller so there is less "surface" touching the tuning pin--therefore lower torque, even though the hole is smaller. Further the wood cells around the tuning pin are almost certainly "ruptured" and so would loose moisture very much more quickly than the surrounding undamaged wood. Any other theorys of how this happens out there? At 07:23 AM 9/6/02 -0400, you wrote: >"Holes in wood get smaller as humidity goes down..." > >I have heard this before. Believe me, I am not trying to start an arguement - just trying to understand. If a hole gets smaller, then why do tuning pins get more loose with lower humidity? > >Terry Farrell > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Don" <pianotuna@accesscomm.ca> >To: <pianotech@ptg.org> >Sent: Thursday, September 05, 2002 10:51 AM >Subject: Re: removing key pins > > >> Hi Keith, >> >> Holes in wood get smaller as humidity goes down, unless there are >> contraints of some kind that don't allow the wood to shrink. >> >SNIP. >> >> Regards, >> Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.M.T., R.P.T. >> >> mailto:pianotuna@accesscomm.ca >> >> http://us.geocities.com/drpt1948/ >> >> 3004 Grant Rd. >> REGINA, SK >> S4S 5G7 >> 306-352-3620 or 1-888-29t-uner > > > Regards, Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.M.T., R.P.T. mailto:pianotuna@accesscomm.ca http://us.geocities.com/drpt1948/ 3004 Grant Rd. REGINA, SK S4S 5G7 306-352-3620 or 1-888-29t-uner
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