[pianotech] Flagpoling

[Terry Farrell]

And..... if I'm not mistaken, "flag-poling" can also include a pin that twists - like on newer Steinway uprights. Where you can turn the pin with your tuning lever and raise/lower the pitch significantly, yet the pin has not moved at all - and when you release the tuning lever, the pin twists back in pitch.

The bending of the pin, as you describe below, can be observed when you try to raise or lower your tuning lever while engaging the pin (the raise or lower orientation would apply to a grand piano).

Terry Farrell

On Aug 10, 2012, at 6:14 AM, David Boyce wrote:

> Lim, "flagpoling" is a term used to describe the effects of flexibility in a tuning pin.
> 
> A flagpole (can also be written as two words, flag pole) is of course the long stick on which a flag flies at the top. It might seem thick and rigid, where it enters the ground.  But at the top, away up in the air, there can be considerable movement, as the wind whips the flag around.  High buildings are the same, and are indeed designed to move several centimters in high wind.
> 
> Piano tuning pins are short, and SEEM absolutely rigid.  But in fact they can to some extent both twist internally, and bend.  These effects have to be borne in mind when tuning.  The string may move sufficiently to be in tune, but only because the pin has bent or twisted without moving in its pinblock hole.  If that is the case, the string is likely to go out of tune quickly.
> 
> Tuning involves an awareness of, and a feel for, these "flagpoling" effects.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> David.
> www.davidboyce.co.uk

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