Dale,
As you have said replacing a pinblock is always the best choice, but when money is an issue, sometime we must keep the old pinblock. It must first pass all of my tests.
1, The existing tuning pins must move smoothly in the pin block. Any jerking or creaking will require a new block.
2, If any area is looser that the other parts of the block - Replace. Could be hidden damage.
3, Visual inspection when the plate is removed. Any cracking, dryness or delamination - Replace.
Once it has passes all my tests and I have determine that all is well, I go with what David described here. Re-drill or ream to the tuning pin size I have determined is best and I always use the German Diamond brand tuning pins. Far better than anything I've used in the past.
Al
From: erwinspiano at aol.com
Sent: Sunday, November 29, 2009 9:10 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Oversized tuning pins
Hi Al, David, Israel & and all
Having re strung lots of pianos it seems no matter how good the original block seems to be the re strung results are never as good as
a new block. By this I mean going from the original no. 2 to a no. 3. I'm not saying it's not doable or casting dispertion as our shop restrings some old blocks on occasions like any of us. Ok,I've tried reaming,gun barrel brushes etc.,even tried spoon bits. What are they for anyway?
So the point is, the end result of the restring for me are never quite as good as a new block and sometimes frustratingly ...well,frustrating to tune.
I'm getting to the point where if its a really good piano a new block isn't usually going to break the bank. SO... Like Nike, Just do it?
I always find it somewhat disheartening (grrrr) to go back on a job that our shop re strung and it tunes only with the greatest of skill or it's inconsistent & snappy. In my opinion this type of scenario lends itself to a piano being out of tune a larger percentage of its life and a tuning that fades too soon after a fresh tuning is done. Not to mention I don't enjoy the wrestling match
But, I would like to know for those of you who are more seasoned than me (Like AL) grin. What favorite techniques do you use when faced with the re stringing scenario. Ahh, it's probably been discussed at length but indulge me.
Dale
I find the best approach is to simply run a drill through that's the
appropriate size for the new diameter pin you are going to use. That way
you don't have to wonder whether to go up one size or two sizes and you get
some fresh wood against the new tunings pins. Also, now pins come in half
sizes so you can take the minimal amount of material and target the smallest
change necessary or use the lo-torque pins or both.
David Love
www.davidlovepianos.com
>The irony is that there are places and conditions where going up 2 sizes
>is pretty much standard procedure. All the years that I lived and worked
>in Boston, that's what we did whenever restringing a piano without
>replacing the pinblock. The climate there and the prevalence of
>forced-air heating in New England homes beat those pinblocks up so badly
>that if you only went up one size, you would have loose tuning pins
>within a year or two of restringing (if not sooner). Now that I am
>living and working in Northern California, often the block is still
>perfectly fine when the strings are shot (as often happens in pianos
>that live close to the ocean or in the fog belt). Even going up one
>size can often result in overly tight tuning pins. So one size increase
>is the maximum I dare do here - and often enough restringing with the
>old pins (using a dummy pin for making coils) yields perfectly fine
>tuning pin torque.
>The point is that one should not blindly follow some set procedure, but
>assess the conditions and determine tuning pin size accordingly.
>Israel Stein
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