[pianotech] tuning pins

[Terry Farrell]

Whereas your conclusions may be accurate, a slight "snap" upon initial  
turning does not necessarily mean "jumpy". I've certainly tuned many a  
piano with pins that give a slight "snap" or click when they move, yet  
they are not jumpy and the tuning is very easy. You tried two holes  
with a different tuning pin in each hole - likely slightly different  
sized tuning pins and threads that are cut differently. Of course the  
pins are going to feel a bit different - they are. IMHO, it is not a  
valid conclusion that slightly out-of-round tuning pins equate to  
jumpy tuning pins based on what you've shared.

FWIW, I know that I've pounded many an unround tuning pin into new  
pinblocks with excellent results - nice smooth feeling pins.

Terry Farrell

On Sep 28, 2010, at 11:42 PM, Roger Gable wrote:

> I just drilled 2 holes in a sample pinblock stock. I drove a tuning  
> pin in one hole with the Denro ( I think) which did not measure  
> perfectly round, and the other with a Diamond. The Diamond turned  
> smooth the Denro did not. There was a slight "snap" upon initial  
> turning with the Denro. The snap was not enough to inhibit tuning,  
> but demonstrated that a oval pin "jumps" around the hole. Why? My  
> only guess is that the high point is pushing wood fibers outward,  
> and this outward tension builds up and then releases. This is new  
> pinblock stock and the conditions are as favorable as you could  
> expect for a test such as this, but imagine what the possibilities  
> would be on an uneven used block; a higher likelihood that the  
> jumping could be intolerable. I switched to the higher priced pins a  
> few years ago, simply as an experiment and found that I no longer  
> experienced jumpy pins after "fighting" this anomaly for 30 years.  
> As for the benefits of a set of uneven pins yielding a few larger  
> pins to be used in the base area. Fine. Go ahead and measure all the  
> pins. I simply purchase an oversize set and use them in the base  
> area if needed.
> Roger Gable
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ron Nossaman" <rnossaman at cox.net>
> To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2010 7:52 PM
> Subject: Re: [pianotech] tuning pins
>
>
>> On 9/28/2010 4:09 PM, Terry Farrell wrote:
>>> I don't remember what brand, but I have also noted new tuning pins  
>>> that
>>> are not round. But how do you conclude that slight imperfections in
>>> roundness contribute to pin jumpiness?
>>
>> Thank you, that someone (anyone) besides me asked.
>> Ron N
>