[pianotech] snapping pins

[Ron Nossaman]

On 3/31/2012 9:35 PM, Leslie Bartlett wrote:
> I quit tuning a ‘30’s Kimball baby grand which if I moved the pin in
> mid-range enough to go +- 20 cents the pins would crack up to half a
> dozen times. EVERY pin was that way. Block was not replaced and a highly
> respected local rebuilder said the guy has simply swabbed epoxy on the
> holes, so ruined everything. He also did some other stupid things……..
> Refinished piano, with veneer on lid beginning to come loose, not fixing
> the problem, of course. But I digress. The issue is the pins…… What
> would cause the swabbing of holes with epoxy (pins seem to be original
> size) cause different response than wicking CA down into the holes? I
> may be smart enough that I have some idea, but am caught in a conundrum.
> Several years ago I knocked out about 3 pin-sleeves out of sever holes
> on an old piano. I then filled the holes with epoxy, then redrilled them
> and those five holes were very nicely tight, turned smoothly, and had
> none of the cracking/snapping I experienced today. I have no real
> experience for dealing with this, and would appreciate help.

I've epoxied two blocks with restring, long ago, because they just 
weren't possibly going to be paid for to be replaced, and I didn't trust 
them with oversized pins. Both tuned very nicely. I see no reason epoxy 
would make pins snap, unless it was poorly mixed and rolled thread pins 
were used. I also don't have a suggestion for a dependable fix short of 
replacing the block. How about finding out from the actual perpetrator 
instead of the inevitable "highly respected local rebuilder" diagnosing 
after the fact, what was actually done to the block? Sometimes real 
information provides real answers that someone's passing opinion (guess) 
doesn't.
Ron N