Gluing an old piano pinblock
For a piano to hold its tune, it is essential that the tuning pins are tight.
Occasionally, tuning pins will loosen as the pinblock loses moisture content over time. This is more common in older pianos. If your piano is newer, a loose tuning pin issue is most likely going to be covered in your piano’s 5-10 year manufacturer warranty.
There are many solutions to loose tuning pins, the most expensive being to replace the entire pinblock. This can cost thousands of dollars. However, this isn’t always necessary and another much less expensive solution is gluing the pinblock by using CA (Cyanoacrylate) glue (also called “doping the pinblock”). This method was discovered and popularized by Ed Tomlinson.
This works because glue wicks down through the wood fibers surrounding the pin, selling the wicks, and then hardens into the pinblock, which creates more torque on the tuning pins. It does have a strong smell, but dries quickly. Usually one dose will work just fine, but occasionally a second dose is required. After which you are looking a new pinblock.
Gluing a old piano pinblock on a customer piano.
For an upright piano, you will need a piano tilter in order to position the piano on its back. In this particular case I had removed the fallboard so I put a strip of masking tape across the keys so that they wouldn’t fall out.
Here is the technique I developed to apply the CA glue to the tuning pinhole, without creating a mess. You’ll need a paper towel and a piece of piano wire. (see picture below)
Position the piano wire exactly where you want the glue to end up, which is at the bottom of the tuning pin. Then drizzle the glue down the piano wire. This keeps the glue off the tuning pins and plate. If the glue happens to drip, just quickly wipe it up with your rag.
If your piano is having an issue with loose tuning pins or is going out of tune frequently after tunings, we can fix it. Give us a call at 801-410-0018 or schedule a time for us to come out and do a diagnosis.
