Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum should I just get a new piano?

I was stupid to try it, I know. I thought I could tune/replace a few strings in my old piano (it was free, so I didn't stress too much and seemed silly to pay big bucks to get it done). Well, now I have three keys that are pretty much unplayable because pins have gotten "stripped" and I can't tighten one of the three strings on each of them. I can't even get the pin to loosen, now, my tuning wrench does not grip the pin. SOOO: should I try and get a smaller size and hope it grips enough to finish the job? Or just try and get a different piano?

get a left turn extractor, take the pins out and replace them with a bigger size. no need to get a different piano just yet

No, but you might want to invest in a good piano technician. Call Bakers Piano at 303-730-7779 and Alexander will set you up.

Best advice from Bob. Make the call.

You probably just need a #1 tip. Some old uprights had pretty small tuning pins. Your tip is probably too big and was pretty loose to begin with.

What kind of tuning lever do you have? Can it accept a professional tip?

I don't know the brand, unfortunately, I got it on ebay awhile ago and can't even find the info any more. After some internet research I agree a #1 might help. The piano is 1903 or some such year. The pins are rusty enough they seem to grip the #2 pretty well, until they get worn enough to be shiny again. Thanks everyone!!!!! I'll try and save any Christmas $$ to put towards a professional but until then I may try the #1 and see what happens.
I'm also a bit disappointed that the new shiny strings do not sound as bright and lively as the old rusty ones. Why is that? I love an obnoxiously bright sound. It is bright enough that the keys (4) that were down to a single string still sounded almost fine...there was really only 1 that had such a diminished sound that you'd notice it much.

It's probably because the new strings are not lining up with the imprint in the hammer. Try to space them so that the line up exactly with the grooves in the hammer.

You can also use the imprint in the dampers to help you line up the strings too.

brilliant! that totally makes sense! OK, I now have a renewed sense of purpose. Thanks everyone!