Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum using shim of ivory for the lost tuning pin

oday I received a comment on this video.
The man Marcio Gontijo wrote this method here:
Só um toque. Existe uma técnica mais interessante p/ calçar a cravelha. (lâmina de marfim) -- Antes de "torcer" vc tem que bater a cravelha com martelo até o ponto de colocar a corda, só depois torça e vai mantendo a corda alinhada. Boa sorte.
If I understand correctly, it uses a very thin strip of ivory instead of cardboard. Its thickness is like a razor blade.
It's technique shim is different from setting the cardboard shim.
After installing the ivory razor blade in the pinblock's hole, the pin is hammered to the previous "native" height of the pin. Then a string is installed on the pin. Further the usual operation screwing it's pin with using tuning hammer as in the tuning procedure.
How will it work? I find it difficult to answer now. What think our tuners about it's? Maybe someone knows or listen something about this? Or some of the technicians used this for lost pin too?
regards, Max

That does not look like ivory. More like sandpaper.

Sorry, BDB
You did not understand it's. This Brazilian woman uses no sandpaper. This is a regular corrugated cardboard. A man from Brazil wrote a commentary on this video a technique setting with using ivory about

Max,

I don't know how they could get the ivory to curl like that without splitting into little pieces. More information is needed. If it works though...sure.

Peter Grey Piano Doctor

Edit: BTW Max, your English seems to be getting better. Have you been working on it? ☺

hi, Peter Grey Piano Doctor
I have no doubt that this will work well too there. But how to make 0.1mm thick ivory shavings. Riddle. The Anunnaki might suggest something like that, I'm think.
Nice to hear Max's English about,
Max does not have the opportunity to study and improve his English. Perhaps Max's reading the "New York Times" daily contributes to this improvement. Perhaps Google translate improves his English because better "understand" Max.

I just don't understand how that could be ivory. There seems to be writing, or some kind of marking on the inside that can be seen in the video in a few places. I think something is getting lost in translation somewhere. It even sounds like paper in the video. At 0:15, 0:23, 0:47 you can clearly see 3-4 different lines of text or something. I don't know what that is, but I can't imagine that it could be ivory. That would be such a sad use for such a material.

Sorry, piano411
You did not understand it's. This Brazilian woman uses no paper. This is a regular corrugated cardboard. A man from Brazil wrote a commentary on this video a technique setting with using ivory about

I am certain it is not ivory.

It looks like a little strip cut from a business card. It does not look like corrugated cardboard.

So if I'm reading it correctly he is saying tgatvtge video shows cardboard, but a Brazilian guy espouses ivory for this application. Interested in seeing it done, or at least a good description of the process.

Edit: Okay...its in Spanish or Portuguese. Can someone translate the bold print?

Peter Grey Piano Doctor

Google Translate renders it thus:

Oh, I understand now. What we saw was in fact cardboard (or whatever). Someone else, completely unrelated to that that video who was making a comment, and they wrote "lâmina de marfim" in the comment section. Google translate shows that as "ivory blade." Google images shows that terminology to bring up wooden veneers.

Max, I don't speak portuguese, but I think that guy was talking about using wooden veneer. That make much more sense to me given the situation. Google translate may be wrong here.

Sounds logical.

Peter Grey Piano Doctor

I use google too, which translates this "lâmina de marfim" as "razor blade".
the intrigue remains.
It takes somebody well know Portuguese to clear our doubts, I'm think.

received a new comment to my video from Brazil man Marcio Gontijo
He explains the following the ivory shim setting method about:
1 You can find and buy ivory (plate) in hardware building stores
2 Take a piece of resin (presumably coniferous resin)
3 Dissolve this resin in pure alcohol.
4 Dip each plate (2-3) in this solution. Shake the solution vigorously before applying to the plate. A thin film should form on the plate as a result of drying.
5 Install these plates into the pinblock hole.
6 Insert the pin (no string) into the hole too.
7 Drive the peg with a hammer to the "native" position of a pin in the pinblock

Boa tarde. A lâmina de marfim encontra-se em casas de materiais de construção. Compre uma barrinha de breu e dissolva em alcool absoluto ate formar uma gosma. Umedeça a cravelha nessa mistura e depois de colocar uma ou duas fatias finas da lamina bata energicamente na cravelha, sem a corda. Pronto a cravelha estará firme como nova. Boa sorte.

Max,

Interesting. Ultimately I think most of us would need a video or more specific corroborative info to really get it (I know I do). I didn't know ivory was sold in hardware stores down south. And I've not heard of any resin that dissolves in alcohol. I'm sure he knows what he's talking about, but I surely don't.

Peter Grey Piano Doctor

perhaps in Brazilian hardware stores ivory is a common commodity. Perhaps this resin is some kind of special, which dissolves in alcohol.
I will ask the Brazilian to make a video. Perhaps he will agree to do this.
the intrigue remains with us.

A resina ou breu é aquela de passar no arco do violino. Apenas passe a cravelha e a lâmina de marfim na solução, não deixe ficar de molho. 1 ou2 lâminas no máximo deverá ser suficiente, mais do que isso não. Qdo for martelar o pino retire a corda dele, pois a corda cortará o marfim antes da hora certa. Estando a cravelha toda "enterrada" recoloque a corda e quebre o restante do marfim. Serviço limpo e eficiente. É bom lembrar que um técnico é sempre melhor, pois tem uma visão diferente da situação. Boa sorte. Márcio Gontijo -- técnico afinador-- Divinopolis-mg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divinópolis
as I understood this message.
for the procedure, you must take rosin. Plates ivory need 1 or 2. Dip in spirit + rosin solution it's. The method is clean and effective

Rosin! Okay...things are making a bit more sense now. (Repeat "a bit more").

Peter Grey Piano Doctor

yes, it remains to figure out how to cut ivory into a 0.2mm plate

Something like phenolic fiberboard makes more sense to me, and could POSSIBLY get translated as "ivory" somehow. Just a wild guess.

Peter Grey Piano Doctor