Young Chang Pinblock Problems – How We Fix It

My Young Chang piano doesn’t seem to hold a tune and I have heard that the plate and pinblock aren’t aligned correctly. What can I do?

The pin block in a grand piano is obviously an important component to both the stability of tone and structural integrity of the instrument. About 40,000 pounds of tension is put on this piece of composite wood by the piano strings. Logically, care must be taken during the manufacturing and re-manufacturing process to ensure a secure and tight fit between the pin block and the cast iron plate. Recently we have come across a number of pianos where care was NOT taken during the factory manufacturing process. We have began/completed work on a number of Young Chang grand pianos where the fit between the plate and the pin block quite frankly was almost nonexistent as you can see in the photos below. Young Chang utilizes a very fine quality pinblock, so the bad fit is rather unfortunate.

The photo above shows that the only part of the pin block that is actually touching the plate is the small bead of glue/putty that was applied. (Near the bottom of the pinblock.) If the components are fit together as they should be, almost the entire face of the pinblock should fit snugly against the plate. As these pinblocks were probably cut quickly en mass at the factory, this resulted in parts that did not fit correctly. This then results in tuning instability and overall it reduces the structural integrity of the instrument. This instability results in a piano that slips out of tune very quickly and makes a stable tuning impossible. Unfortunately, this issue is normally discovered either near the end or after the termination of the factory warranty. Recently we began the repairs on two Young Chang manufactured grand pianos that have this issue. 

We began the process by disassembling the piano and removing the strings. When we reached the pinblock and cast iron plate, we were rather shocked to find in some places the gap was a third of an inch thick. This obviously was not the way it was designed to be constructed. We also found that the holes for the tuning pins were drilled very quickly, which resulted in the wood tearing and a hole that did not hold the pins tightly. (We remedied this issue by installing larger tuning pins to create a tight, stable hold.)

The Process

To repair the gap between the plate and block, we utilize an advanced synthetic wood. This compound is dye-able, sand-able and is formulated to act and feel as much like wood as possible. It truly is the best solution we have discovered when completing repairs such as this. We added this compound to the gap. This particular repair took several softball sized balls of the compound to fully fill the large gap. The amount that we had to use was actually rather shocking to us. The alignment was checked repeatedly and the compound was sanded and adjusted to ensure a tight fit. After the alignment was snug, it was coated with a protective coating for additional durability and smoothness. After this process was completed, we then reinstalled the pinblock, re-seated the plate, re-strung the piano and re-installed any other parts that needed to be removed to reach the pinblock. (See the photos attached below for more details.)

 

The Final Result

The end result of this work is a piano that was much more structurally sound, holds its tune and is now as durable as it should have been from the factory. Obviously this issue is one that a piano owner would rather not have to deal with, however we have the experience and techniques to fix this problem efficiently and in this case more afford ably We can manufacture and install a new pinblock for you as well, if that is the solution you wish to go with. In closing, do not let this discourage you from considering or purchasing a Young Chang grand, or any other brand of piano for that matter. Not all pianos have this issue, but rest assured that if it does, we can assist in restoring or repairing your prized instrument.

Have questions about what we do here at Chupp’s Pianos? Get in touch with us today and we will be happy to get back with you as soon as we can!