CAUT

  • 1.  Installing New Bridge Pins

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-27-2024 10:32

    Dear Colleagues,

    Can someone direct me to the archive discussion about installing new bridge pins.  There were several techniques and glues discussed.  I am specifically looking for Fred Sturm's method , but would like to review other technicians methods as well.

    I tried searching the archives but didn't have any luck.  Thanks.

    Steve Snyder



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    [Stephen] [Snyder] [RPT
    [Salem] [NY]
    [518-854-3888
    [518-321-3813
    [shsnyder440@gmail.com
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  • 2.  RE: Installing New Bridge Pins

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-27-2024 11:47
    Hi Steve,
    I can't find anything in the search engine (though I know I have written about this more than once), but here's a short description of what I have done many times in restringing capo sections with plate in:

    Remove old pins (except for a couple unisons right next to the struts where there isn't enough clearance)

    Flatten the top surface by sanding (down to where the string grooves are still visible) using a bit of sandpaper and a finger pressing down, focusing on the middle of the bridge (trying to make it a flat surface from pin to pin)

    Clean up notching as needed, sharp chisel aimed right down the middle of the pin holes

    Apply McLube to the top of the bridge (I just let it be colorless, but you can use the black stuff if you like)

    Place new pins in something like a jar lid, apply some McLube (444 or 1725), move them around until coated and let dry. This is for the next technician. I found that a pin that is CA'd in can be EXTREMELY hard to remove, following my own work.

    Using the provided tip, apply extra thin CA in every pin hole of perhaps 3 - 6 unisons. Install pins in those holes, using a punch with a hole of an appropriate depth so as to get them all the same height. Repeat

    Regards,
    Fred Sturm
    http://fredsturm.net
    www.artoftuning.com
    "A mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." Plutarch













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  • 3.  RE: Installing New Bridge Pins

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-27-2024 11:54
    The punch I mentioned I made from a short piece of 1/4" brass rod, center punched and drilled a hole in one end, ground away enough material so it would fit between adjacent pins.
    Regards,
    Fred Sturm
    fssturm@comcast.net
    Youtube Spotify Deezer Apple Amazon
    http://fredsturm.net
    www.artoftuning.com
    "Art lives from constraints and dies from freedom." Leonardo















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  • 4.  RE: Installing New Bridge Pins

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-27-2024 12:39
    Thanks so much Fred.  This was exactly what I was looking for.  Many folks recommend epoxy , but I would prefer thin CA.  Regarding the punch  - do you mean drill it out to the proper depth?  

    All the best,
    Steve

    Stephen Snyder
    342 Scott Lake Road
    Salem, NY 12865

    518-854-3888 (home office)
    518-321-3813 (mobile)
    shsnyder440@gmail.com





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  • 5.  RE: Installing New Bridge Pins

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-27-2024 13:04
    I drilled the hole it the punch to the depth of how much bridge pin I want to have above the bridge. I hammer until the punch is flush with the wood. Makes for a nice, neat job, no need to file the tops of the pins (which defeats the whole purpose by loosening the holes somewhat).

    Regards,
    Fred Sturm
    fssturm@comcast
    "The cure for boredom is curiosity, and there is no cure for curiosity." Dorothy Parker




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  • 6.  RE: Installing New Bridge Pins

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-27-2024 13:09
    Great.  I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate all you have done and continue to do for our profession Fred.  You are awesome!

    Stephen Snyder
    342 Scott Lake Road
    Salem, NY 12865

    518-854-3888 (home office)
    518-321-3813 (mobile)
    shsnyder440@gmail.com





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  • 7.  RE: Installing New Bridge Pins

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 29 days ago

    Fred,

    A couple of questions:

    1. Doesn't the lubrication of the pins counteract the benefit of supergluing the pins into the holes? or... do you find the CA still makes for a tighter connection between wood and pin? I guess I'm asking, have you found that it sounds just as good with lubed as with not-lubed superglued pins?
    2. Are you leaving space at the bottom of the some of the holes when you are punching the pins down to the desired level? I have often gotten great tonal results by tapping pins to the bottom of their holes. So when installing new pins i always try to drive them all the way to the bottom. It can make for a jagged line of pin tops. I'm interested in your thoughts.


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    John Pope
    University of Kentucky School of Music
    Lexington, KY
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  • 8.  RE: Installing New Bridge Pins

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 29 days ago
    I don't want to "superglue the pins into the hole." The CA is a gap filler, making up for the crushing of wood that has taken place as a result of humidity cycles. The pins should be firm in the wood, but not adhesively joined to it, so that they can be removed later without damaging the bridge (for reasons having to do with later service - as in replacing bridge cap).

    I am skeptical of the need to bottom the pin in the hole - something Ron Nossaman wrote quite a bit about, explaining why that was really a myth, and demonstrating that the wood of the bridge moves up and down the pin through RH cycles. 

    Driving a pin may make a tonal difference, as may driving/tapping the string down onto the bridge, but is it a lasting difference? The friction of the pin against the wire will cause the wire to be trapped against the wood, and will push the wire into the wood, causing a depression. Temporarily you have a firmer termination. In the long run, you have damaged the surface of the bridge, and you end up needing to retap the string or pin, creating a vicious cycle.

    That's my take. Others will have varying opinions.

    Regards,
    Fred Sturm
    "Believe those who seek the truth; doubt those who find it." Gide




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