Nature of tuning pins, why technicians prefer blue

[John Delacour]

At 05:41 -0400 9/7/08, Jon Page wrote:

>Another reason to use blued pins is that when they age, you can use a
>wire wheel to them clean up. Plated pins loose their luster and I've even
>seen the plating flake off; no means to make them presentable.

Yes, and that's the reason I always use them.  I think new 
nickel-plated pins look cheap and flashy, like American cars.  The 
plating is quickly done and does not hold, and in any case they look 
even worse when they're old.

Dale says the plating is done after the turning.  I haven't any 
nickeled pins to look at here but I am pretty sure that is not the 
case.

As to the question of "reverse thread" or whatever, I can find no 
pins here, whether old or new, that behave in the way people are 
describing.  I would suggest that pins that exhibit this behaviour 
are made on machines that need at least the cutters replacing.

JD