Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Piano Tuning Pin Bushings => fix for loose pins?

Well, I've tried both sandpaper and CA glue methods and while I had good results with CA glue on some pins, there are lots of them where this method didn't work. It is probaby because pins are too loose, for example one pin can almost be removed by hand o_O. Guess I'll need to make a new pinboard

Does anyone have any knowledge about removing the old pinboard, I mean after removing pins, wires and frame?

I have a customer who had his old piano repaired with glue.
They had the holes in the pinblock filled up with West System, had to do it two or three times. Then drilled the holes tight and put back the original pins. This was 15 years ago and it still works fine. I think the West System glue was hardening for about a week before they drilled the holes.

Yes. The epoxy approach is an effective and long-term solution. It is more effort than CA, but much less than pinblock replacement -- especially in an upright. One of my colleagues in my local PTG chapter had an article published in the PT Journal about a year ago on his success with this procedure.

Could you explaing what "open board" means?

It means that the tuning pin sections are not covered by the iron frame.

Does this piano have a Wienna action?
Probably the scale has got a low tension so the pins do not have to sit tight like in the terrible Delignit blocks.
If the old block does not have big cracks, I think you could use the West System solution. Another thing is that tuning a piano with an old low tension scale can be difficult if the tuning pins are very tight.

I once changed the pinblock in an old piano like yours, actually it was older. We installed a new one from Canada. If you are in Europe they are available from Jahn GmbH in Germany. It was a very difficult job because the pinblock was so integrated in the whole furniture.

What type of epoxy was used ? thin "impregnating type" (as the one to work with fiberglass) or thicker quality ?

The impregnating quality is really flowing, I understand if can be necessary to add some 3 times, particularly with heat I guess it can go deep in the wood (1 mm or so). It also ask for a very long time to harden, the one I have could be "cooked so to provide full hardening, cooking can be 40°c for 48 hrs even if higher temperatures are provided.

I was said that the hardening process continues for a long time but very slowly if not "cook" and the final resistance is a little less then.

Sure with low tension hard pins make the job impossible.

That is where one notice the torque of the pin may relate to the tension, that is not something that we think of, at first sight.

Also, due to the need for tuning often, I was told not to use the very firm pin setting that pianos allow.

Isaac, it is the West System product, 2 comp. You can read about it on their web site. Yes, it is used in a mix thin as water so it is absorbed into the block and the pin holes are filled.

I question the feasibility to use vacuum pump on a pin block.

You tune that old piano yourself ? the feel is acceptable (precise enough) ?

Small vacuum pump :
http://tintin.gwen.free.fr/Trucs%20et%20astuces/pompe%20vide/pompe%20vide.htm

My decision was to pull out the pinblock and make another one, as that seems like best solution long term. Now that it's out, time to make another one

Since I've already started going off-topic, here is a new thread about making the pinblock: http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2089314.html#Post2089314

If I loved the piano, and wanted to keep it forever, I'd replace the pinblock