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We are trying to determine what makes sense to do with our 1914 Mason & Risch upright. It appears to have developed increasing tuning instability concurrent with humidity changes over the past couple of years. There are a handfull of short (few inches) hairline cracks in the bass end of the pinblock that our tuner feels is contributing to this instability. He is proposing (and I have not had a chance to discuss this with him in detail) to lay the piano over and glue these cracks. It is also time for a serious voicing and regulating.

The tuning pins do feel 'mushy' to me at the far bass end. I do my own minor touch ups while waiting for the weather to stabilize so the pro can come in and deliver a more lasting tuning. In order to protect our new grand we invested in a high quality whole house humidifier this fall and are keeping the house at a steady 40% RH this winter which should hopefully help the old guy as well.

This piano has the 3/4 frame and 85 keys that were common in its era. In 1989 we had the full action replaced and new dampers installed (I think about $2,000 worth of work). We would like to get 10 more years out of this piano as that is when our youngest should be clear of university and the need for two pianos in the house will diminish.

We are not sure of the range of options we should explore. Is a new pinblock (and maybe re-stringing) even an option? Oversize pins? Do nothing at all and stop spending good money on a lost cause?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I'd try doping the tuning pins, which is what your tech suggests. The piano is tipped on it's back and CA is applied to the pins. This isn't too expensive and you might get another ten years out of it. If it doesn't work, you haven't spent a lot of money. Oversize pins with or without new strings might work if the block is in good shape, but that's more money than the piano is worth - and it's hard to evaluate vertical piano pin block till you pull some pins and put new ones in and see how they hold. I would hesitate to put a new block in most upright pianos. It's very difficult to do.

Hairline cracks at the tuning pin holes are usually not deep and will not affect the tuning stability much. With experience, one learns the technique of tuning even with loose tuning pins.

I agree with Bob. The best thing to try at this point is the CA glue procedure. I have had great success with this procedure on many upright pianos. As a matter of fact I did some work today on an old Wilbur from the early 1900's. It was 50 cents flat in Jan 2004 with very low tuning pin torque. I did the CA procedure on it and a number of other repairs to make it playable. Today (almost 2 years ago) when I checked it the pitch was only 4 cents flat The first thing that should be done are sample torque readings to establish the overall torque of the pinblock. If the torque measurement is less than 48 inch lbs the pins are in danger of slipping. I have been able to double and triple the torque by applying CA glue ( double and triple passes) using epoxy syringes and letting the CA dry overnight or over a weekend.
If there are hairline cracks in the block or cracks between tuning pin holes the CA will migrate and fill the gaps quite well. WHen the plate covers the tuning pin holes between tuning pins you know there are cracks when the CA starts coming up out of adjacent tuning pin holes. In an exposed pin block its easy to see the cracks. Replacing the pinblock on a vertical is an expensive and time consuming job and is not done unless the piano is a high quality piano, there is lots of sentimental value or the owner is intent on spending money. Although it is true you can tune with some losse pins, if the torque is low consistently throughout the piano there is no way you can tune the piano. I once tried to tune an old vertical where the pins measured below 20 inch lbs. Once I got through the bass and into the middle the bass went south again. You need enough torque in the tuning pins to hold the 18-20 tons of tension created when all of the strings are pulled to pitch. My advise for now would be to spend a few hundred on the CA procedure. Oversized tuning pins and restringing is very costly and most likely not worth it. If it came to that and several thousand $ I would shop for a good used piano.

Thanks for the responses. It is booked to be done next Friday and we are comfortable this is a reasonable approach to extend the life of the piano a few more years.

How does your Mason & Risch sound basically?
Does it have sentimental value?
Those old Canadian verticals sometimes have a really nice sound. I have restored several including a 54" Heintzman where we repaired the sound board, replaced the action, strings and pins with great success. The tone is fabulous and in many ways better than anything new. Of course, it depends on if you plan on selling it or not. It will probably be difficult to recoup your investment.
I have also done the CA treatment. It sometimes works and sometimes not quite as well as I would have liked. I think it depends somewhat on the basic condition of the block. I must admit though, I tend to recommend new strings and pins if you can afford it because of the tremendous change for the good in the tone of the piano.
Best wishes!


Alex K.
Piano Tech

Alex
In its prime with the new hammers I thought the piano had a very full, rich sound. I bought it while in university over 30 years ago, so of course I have a lot of affection for it. The tuning issues make it hard to judge the tone, especially when the unisons start to go. I try to clean these up between tunings, but of course I don't have the skill necessary to do a first rate job. The 16 year old hammers have not been properly needled since being installed and it really needs to be voiced down at this point. I rushed our fall tuning because it was so bad - and it slipped within three weeks as the weather turned cooller. It did sound pretty darn good for a few days! I worry about 90 year old strings and the short frame/exposed pinblock. It is a very solid piece of work, about 50" and has an understated elegance. My 15 year old actually still prefers it to the new grand - she finds it less intimidating. I would never sell it, just fix it up for one of the kids to have or give it a dignified burial. It's a tough call, spend a couple of thousand (?) fixing it more thoroughly or buy used. My children are starting to leave home and I'd like to help them have an acoustic to play on the same way my parents helped me.