I am near the end of a trip in Central Asia and was asked to tune several pianos while here. I knew I would be at a disadvantage with just a basic bag of tools instead of a pickup of tools and supplies.
Today I managed to mangle a tuning pin among the bass bichords. It was previously driven in too far so that a neighboring string became an obstacle, so my hammer did not properly fit on it to tune. That began the mangling. I asked for a vice grip, thinking that I could nudge it in the right direction, but that only mangled it worse. The vice grip no matter how tight would only slip and chew on the pin.
So my question now is: What works to remove the pin? I have nothing with me to remove the pin, but I would find or buy the tools necessary to do it. Otherwise the piano is fine and ready to go. I have the string temporarily blocked so the piano can be played.
Any suggestions will be helpful. I leave this area in about 48 hours.
Arlie Rauch
(normally from Arizona)