Tag Archives: pin block

Piano Questions: Do They Make Metal Pinblocks? Reshaped Hammers

Robert,
What do reshaped hammers mean? I have seen this in some of the pianos you have on your site and am wondering as to what this means.
Sonja-

Good question! When hammers impact the strings, over time they develop deep grooves which are compacted felt. It creates a brittle tone. Hammers that are really worn can even flatten a bit. So, you can bring new life to hammers by reshaping them to the egg-shape which produces the best tone. Better than that, you get down to virgin felt which has a warmer sound. You can only reshape hammers so many times until you get to the wood – then you have to replace the hammers. These hammers have plenty of good felt to work with, so years down the line they can be reshaped again a number of times.

I may use this question and answer in my next video newsletter!

Robert,
Why isn’t the pin block made of metal? It does not need to transfer sound and metal would not have to be replaced.
– Kenneth

You ask a very good question. In fact, before the turn of the 20th century, Mason & Hamlin did indeed produce a limited number of upright and grand pianos that had metal, threaded pinblocks – not wood! These were referred to as “sidewinders” because the pins were parallel to the strings, not at right angles like in traditional pianos. They abandoned the design in a few short years and I am not aware of any other piano manufacturer utilizing metal pinblocks.

There are several benefits to wood pinblocks. First, the pins are threaded very finely. This allows for precise tuning. It is difficult to have metal machine screws with the geometry and strength to allow for the extreme fine tuning necessary in a piano. The fact is, there are over 20 tons of combined string tension in a piano. With a traditional pinblock when you restring the piano, you can use slightly larger pins and get excellent tuning stability. With a metal pinblock, the machine screws don’t allow for that possibility. Worse yet, if the metal breaks, it can be very difficult repairing. In traditional pianos with a wood pinblock, you can even replace the pinblock if necessary.

So, there are good reasons why nearly all pianos have had wood pinblocks for hundreds of years.

What is a Pin Block? Piano Parts

You have probably heard about a pinblock and you might have wondered what it is. The pinblock is a fundamentally important part of the instrument. In fact, without a solid pinblock, you simply can’t tune your piano!

The big problem with the pinblock is that if it’s in bad condition and needs to be replaced you have only one option; rebuild the piano. You can learn about the process of rebuilding a piano in my video:

What’s the Difference between Rebuilding and Reconditioning a Piano?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0nYdswAMDE

This is basically taking out all the strings and removing the plate of the piano – usually using an engine hoist. The rebuilding process is the only time you will be able to access the pinblock and replace it if necessary. This repair costs thousands of dollars.

Needless to say, the pinblock is a crucial part of the piano. Its job is to keep the pins in place providing the tension necessary to keep the piano in tune.

Unfortunately, this incredibly important part of the piano can’t be inspected for problems easily. If you remove the fallboard and pull the action out of the piano, you will be able to see the bottom of the pinblock and inspect it. However, the bottom is not where most of the problems are – they are hidden from view.

So how do you tell if your pinblock needs to be replaced? It requires a bit of detective work. The first thing that will point to problems with your pinblock is if your piano is unable to hold its tuning. If you tune the strings and the pins begin to slip when you apply tension to them, there is likely an issue with the pinblock. Sometimes this problem can be fixed by using a larger pin size (more about that shortly) but it could potentially make the problem worse. If the pinblock is cracked, larger pins will just enlarge the cracks!

Sometimes you have to replace the pinblock even if everything is working fine. Eventually, a piano will have to be restrung. However, you can only restring a piano so many times before you have to replace the pin block because each time you restring, you use larger pins. Eventually, you reach a limit in pin size.

When you first string a piano you use pins called 2-op (which represents thousands of an inch). When you re-string a piano you generally use larger pins for tension – so a slightly larger pin must be used. Generally, you will use a pin 2 op larger than the last ones. So if you replace 2 op pins you will most likely be using 4-op pins. Generally, you will not want to go past 6-op pins.

So, the short answer to this is that you can re-string a piano twice before having to consider replacing the pinblock.

Hope you appreciate a bit more about the importance of the pinblock. If you have any questions or comments feel free to send me emails. Thanks again!