Pinblock fitting

[Farrell]

Is it safe to assume the piano has been strung for a while and has 
stabilized somewhere near standard pitch? I would recommend tapping some 
hardwood shims into the gaps between the plate flange and pinblock and see 
if that helps - if suddenly it becomes stable, then I guess the answer is 
obvious. At least it won't hurt anything.

Terry Farrell

----- Original Message ----- 
> What¹s the latest on whether or not a pinblock should butt against the 
> plate
> flange?  I have a customer who has a rebuilt piano that won¹t hold tune 
> for
> even a day and when I removed the action and checked the pinblock-to-plate
> fit I found gaps throughout, some as much as 1/8 inch.  Two weeks after I
> tuned it I found it over 20 cents flat and had to give it a pitch raise. 
> A
> few weeks later it was overly flat again and in need of a pitch raise.  I
> explained to the customer about the pinblock to plate flange fit but he 
> said
> that he was told by the rebuilder that such a thing was not important.  To
> top it off he did some research and got conflicting comments.  Some said 
> the
> piano is OK as is while others held to the conviction that the gaps in the
> pinblock are the problem with his piano.  I need some backup in my
> assessment, either pro or con.
>
> Ted Simmons
> Viera, Florida