Replacing Bass Strings on an old Upright

[Jonathan Miller]

I just became the owner of a 1903 Baldwin upright that was only rarely
played in a church for the past 50 years. The action is fine, sound board
and bridges are ok too. But some of the bass strings are not copper and are
quite dead sounding. I dont think the bass bridge or the bearing is at
fault because the bottom octave has copper strings that have alot of
resonance. My question to the technicians out there is how risky is it to
mess with this old pin block? The pins are not tight now and I was thinking
of replacing them with oversized ones. Can I just hammer in new tuning pins
without supporting the pin block? Will it crack? How does one safely hammer
in pins when the upright is standing vertically?

[c***@quik.com]

Post by Jonathan Miller
I just became the owner of a 1903 Baldwin upright that was only rarely
played in a church for the past 50 years. The action is fine, sound board
and bridges are ok too. But some of the bass strings are not copper and are
quite dead sounding. I dont think the bass bridge or the bearing is at
fault because the bottom octave has copper strings that have alot of
resonance. My question to the technicians out there is how risky is it to
mess with this old pin block? The pins are not tight now and I was thinking
of replacing them with oversized ones. Can I just hammer in new tuning pins
without supporting the pin block? Will it crack? How does one safely hammer
in pins when the upright is standing vertically?

How many strings do you want to replace. If the number is around 10,
just send the old ones in to Schaff, let them replace them, put in new
pins one full size larger, don't hammer them in too hard (I usually
screw them in after "starting" them with the punch, wind the wire on).
Be certain to twist the strings a full turn before tightening them to
prevent loosening of the windings later.

If you do it this way, it is a pretty safe procedure. I generally put
the piano on its back when I do it, tilting it on a tilter and
supporting the ends with blocks/jacks I've made for the purpose. It
makes it MUCH easier to handle. Of course you remove the action first
:-)

D