Hi.  Several people have asked me how I replaced the pinblock in that
player.  This might have not have been the best way, and I hope the
piano don't "pop" when pulled to pitch, so here goes.

I will have to give Foster & Co. a big fat "F" for the pinblock in
that unit.  It consisted of nothing but 6" wood scraps glued together,
18 pieces in all I think.

I got out the saw, chisel and jigsaw and cut the thing out of there.
There wasn't much written instructions that I could find, so I was
on my own, integrating grand pinblock replacement instructions when
possible.  Also Craig Brougher was very helpful with lots of solid
advice.

The first thing I did: using shims, bolts and 2x12's I bolted these to
the back, and put the piano down on a concrete floor.  I thought once
the block was out, the back might become "wobbly", so I wanted the back
to remain square.

The plate did have a flange, but the pinblock didn't contact it.
Instead, the pinblock stuck out above the soundboard, then a small
maple strip was tacked to the top of the soundboard to meet the flange
(the earmark of a cheap piano).  I made a new strip, and mated the
plate flange with the strip, then mated the top of the strip where
it contacted the pinblock.

The old block was three-ply, 2"x1/2"x9".  The thickest replacement
I could find was 1x1/2", so I glued a 3/4" piece of rock maple behind
that and glued it to the back of the replacement block.

The top of the soundboard was notched, sort of like tongue-and-groove
flooring.  I had to rout a matching surface in the bottom of the
replacement pinblock.  That was the most difficult part; next time
I am faced with a job like that I think I will cut the old block 1"
above that area, leaving it intact, and mate the replacement block
_above_ the cut!

I fitted the block in the old back, trimming and praying and cursing
the whole while, wondering if perhaps I shouldn't be doing this type
of job at all.  (I really felt out of my league.)  Finally I got the
thing to fit.

Next, I put the plate back in to see if there was room enough to
locate four lag bolts in the block, and through the back beams so
that the bolts would not be in the way of tuning pins or plate screws.
There was.

Next, I epoxied the pinblock in the piano, using "C" clamps and pipe
clamps to hold it firmly toward the top of the soundboard.  I didn't
drill the places for the lag bolts yet, feeling that they might pull the
block slightly away from the notches at the top of the soundboard.  If
that happened, the block would rock during tuning, and the piano would
be unusable!

I am sure that the epoxy filled some 'sins' in that area.  God help
the fellow that ever has to remove it!  Frankly, I didn't trust my
judgment so I used the epoxy for some insurance.

To make sure that the block didn't pull forward years after I am gone,
I then countersunk some lag bolts in the block right into each back
beam, after the epoxy had set.  They were also countersunk in the back
beams, so I made some wooden plugs to glue into the back beams to hide
them.  (I hate a repair that looks "repaired")

Next I put the plate in and drilled the holes for the screws.  I then
covered the whole area above the flange with chalk and put the plate
back in and turned the screws down tight, removed it once again, and
sanded the high spots down on the face of the block so the plate could
make good contact with the face of the block.

Now comes the drilling of the tuning pins.  I constructed a "shelf"
above the top of the piano, and give it a 7-degree angle.  There is
enough room for the base of the drill press to rest below the top.
Now I drilled the pins, taking it very slowly, because if the bit ever
became hot there would be a loose tuning pin after all that work!

Did it work?  Well, I am not sure yet.  I still have to shim and
refinish the soundboard.  Once that is done, on the final installation
of the plate, I intend to put a small amount of epoxy on the flange to
make sure I will get firm contact.  The piano should be better than
new, because there is almost double the pinblock area than originally.

Not something I want to do everyday!

Best Regards

Andy & Chris Taylor
Tempola Music Rolls
http://home.swbell.net/tempola/index.htm