Terry asks: > Can you "safely" pound in loose bridge pins without structural damage to the piano? I don't think so ... no. > If this is not recommended, what about "soaking" the holes with 5 min epoxy, with the pins in place? Gonna make a real mess and probably not solve the problem ... >They are semi loose, but not to such an extent that you can remove them without the aid of a needle nose pliers. They aren't goint to get any tighter ... > If need be, can i safely detune the entire bass section, in order to remove and replace ALL the old pins? Absolutely. This is the proper fix. Put the piano on it's back (if it's an upright), turn the bridge pins carefully about one turn (teensy increments more if needed), remove strings from plate pins putting them one-at-a-time-in-order on a loop of spare wire (coat hanger wire works just dandy), remove pins, drill the holes a smidge deeper with a slightly undersized bit, if you wish (Dremmel type tool is great here), install one size larger pins, tap them to the bottom, gently, with a small hammer (handy-hammer is good). > There are NO cracks in either bridge, so I just want to get the pins TIGHT as quickly and easily as possible. Interesting that there are no cracks because the looseness is likely due to a combination of dryness (sell them a DC!) and sidebearing that has "ovalated" (new word, NOT "ovulated") the holes. Without cracks, I'd say an application of CA or epoxy is optional and I wouldn't "mess" with it--pun intended. > Thanks for the help! Welcome. Others will probably have somewhat different suggestions so stay tuned. I've just described what I, personally, would do--but others have mucho more than my 3 years experience. Alan Barnard Salem, MO
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