[pianotech] Pin-Tite

Pierre Pouliot ppk2 at globetrotter.net
Mon Oct 5 20:11:13 MDT 2009


I had several good result with Pin tite.  Generally pin still feel soft but
hold a lot better.
 
 
Pierre Pouliot

  _____  

De : pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] De la part
de nature.dude
Envoyé : 5 octobre 2009 21:53
À : pianotech at ptg.org
Objet : [pianotech] Pin-Tite


I was reading the following article below regarding Pin-Tite.  I find it
interesting.  It seems like many techs are confusing pianos treated with
Pin-Tite with pianos treated with antifreeze?  Maybe?  Below is the article.
What do you all think?  

(article:  http://www.player-care.com/pintite.html)




Facts About Pin-Tite?
by Craig  <mailto:craig_br at comcast.net> Brougher


I also want to answer in regard to what I feel is not a fair assessment in
regard to Pin-Tite and the Guild
<http://www.player-care.com/pintite.html#othervp> . It was said by Doug
<http://www.player-care.com/pintite.html#othervp> Rhodes that the fact that
nothing had ever been written about Pin-Tite in the last 15 years of the
Journal stands as mute testimony to the "fact" that the PTG
<http://www.player-care.com/pintite.html#othervp>  does not endorse pin
tighteners. 

While it is true that no official articles have been written on pin
tighteners (which would require a comparison test between potential
advertisers in the Journal), neither have there been evaluations of
technician schools (which the PTG doesn't endorse or rate, either.) After
all, Charles  <http://www.player-care.com/pintite.html#othervp> Flaum
included their lack of endorsement as proof, too. The Piano Manufacturer's
Association has never in its history endorsed any after market product, yet
Charles and Doug are, by inference, including this as a proof that Pin-Tite
is damaging to pin planks. Charles said that the entire industry is clearly
opposed to it since no one in the industry endorses it. Doug seconds that
motion. As I will show, that is incorrect.

Pin tighteners got a bad rap when, in the 50s and 60s (around here, at
least) it was said that Mobil Oil Co's antifreeze was as close to pin
tightener as you could get and at the time sold for about 50 cents a qt. So
armed with no knowledge and trusting completely on hearsay, dozens of tuners
in this city filled their bottles with it and ruined thousands of wrest
planks. Not that other brands wouldn't do just as good a job of ruining
them, but the tuners saved the $3.85/plank. This wave went around the
country for about 10-15 years.

Finally, tuners known to do this got a bad reputation, and suddenly the
entire guild ran as far away from pin tighteners the other way as they could
get. They went from one ridiculous extreme to the other. Never ever trying
to find out if, in fact there was actually something to do the job safely
and permanently (as proven by the total lack of research done by the PTG and
admitted by Doug and Charles as well). 

It was lots easier to just throw the baby out with the bathwater. Lump all
pin tighteners together and pretend they didn't exist. They are presently in
this mode yet today, fearful that they will be labeled, otherwise. 

Anybody who says they use it is immediately persona-non-grata. That's why I
did it! I enjoy being "their" persona-non-grata. It gives me a lot of
pleasure and confidence. I enjoy it. Besides, I, and thousands of other
legitimate (but very quiet) users of Pin-Tite are not the exception, and
there are some very fine PTG techs I know who swear by it! Just not very
loudly, lest they be labeled a "hack," which pleases some, and right here on
this MMD page! That doesn't bother me. I know what's right and I always
stick up for those things. People know they can trust what I say.

I think that if a man does not fear what other people will think, he will
not simply go with the flow, but will be honest and curious about trying to
learn what and why. If anybody is actually interested, a chemist could
explain how a resin impregnation system is permanent and cannot possibly
hurt any wood product. I'm surprized that so far no one has said, "I think
it an important enough subject to warrant further study, and to prove one
way or the other." Instead, all I have read is, "I don't know, and I don't
care to find out."

The principle behind all of the early pin tighteners is this: Glycerine in
alcohol is absorbed by the wood. The alcohol evaporates, leaving glycerine
behind. Glycerine has a great affinity for moisture, and so, draws water out
of the air to join with it. As moisture is adsorbed, it fills the spaces,
increasing hydrostatic pressure in the plank. This crushes the wood tightly
around the pins until most of the space is taken up by the moisture
entrained. The pins rust eventually, not from the glycerine, but from the
moisture in the air. The next thing that happens is this: The glycerine
migrates away from the pins and gradually finds its way deep into the plank,
where it no longer can be of use. The powerful action of wood to wick
liquids is stronger than the glycerine's ability to stay where it is. So
gradually, the water then leaves the wood. When it does, it leaves behind a
crushed cellular stucture which has destroyed the plank. Sometimes they can
be repinned, but it isn't likely. And the pin holes seem "mushy" to tune,
and never seem to hold a tuning.

If you had repinned several of these planks, only to have your customers
breathing fire down your neck, you would know why tuners ran as fast as they
could from pin tighteners.

Now comes Pin-Tite. It was formulated by a real live chemist who knew how to
do it. He ran years of experiments. I have spoken to his widow about it, and
the tests which were done to prove it. Her son today is a professional
chemist who supervises its manufacture and tests it. It doesn't rely on
water retention/compression at all! It is made from the resins which come
from wood and a delivery system which allows the wood to "absorb" it, NOT
just entrain it. That means, it is not simply a coating but an integral part
of the pin hole area which chemically reacts with cellulose, dries
completely, and becomes a permanent part of the plank again. There is
nothing in Pin-Tite that does not come from wood. The resultant tuning is a
restored plank, with that nice little pin "jump" restored, just like Bruce
Clark and others want to feel. 

Pin-Tite will not work well on any plank previously treated with a glycol or
any other system which relies on water retention. You are wasting your
money. However, despite the PTG's fearful silence on Pin-Tite, you must
realize that all of these products have been advertised in the PTG Journal,
and that all of these products are still sold by the carload! And guess who
buys them? PTG members! That, friends, is the ultimate endorsement. It's
just that they don't talk about it anymore, lest the stigma is also applied
to them. One day, this will be corrected, but until physical principles are
respected and trusted, the same taint will be applied to all who use it.
Ridiculous!

E-Mail to: Craig  <mailto:craig_br at comcast.net> Brougher
Phone No: 816-254-1693

  _____  

NOTICE: The third parties mentioned in this article have been contacted and
asked to present any scientific and/or practical information which refutes
Mr. Brougher's comments. Thusfar, none have responded. For the position of
the  <http://www.ptg.org/ptg.htm> Piano Technicians Guild regarding all
commercially available products, including Tuning Pin Tighteners, click
<http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/Digests/199703/1997.03.07.09.html> here.
For other opposing and agreeing articles written about the use of Tuning Pin
Tighteners and Loose Tuning Pins,
<http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/KWIC/L/loose.html> click here. The
hyperlinks within this paragraph are just a small part of the
<http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/index.html> Archives located at the
<http://mmd.foxtail.com> Mechanical Music Digest website. 




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