I also want to answer in regard to what I feel is not a fair assessment
in regard to Pin-Tite and the Guild. It was said by Doug Rhodes that
the fact that nothing had ever been written about Pin-Tite in the last
15 years of the Journal stands as mute testimony to the "fact" that the
PTG does not endorse pin tighteners.

While it is true that no official articles have been written on pin
tighteners (which would require a comparison test between potential
advertisers in the Journal), neither have there been evaluations of
technician schools (which the PTG doesn't endorse or rate, either.)
After all, Charles Flaum included their lack of endorsement as proof,
too. The Piano Manufacturer's Association has never in its history
endorsed any after market product, yet Charles and Doug are, by
inference, including this as a proof that Pin-Tite is damaging to pin
planks. Charles said that the entire industry is clearly opposed to it
since no one in the industry endorses it. Doug seconds that motion. As
I will show, that is incorrect.

Pin tighteners got a bad rap when, in the 50s and 60s (around here, at
least) it was said that Mobil Oil Co's antifreeze was as close to pin
tightener as you could get and at the time sold for about 50 cents a
qt. So armed with no knowledge and trusting completely on hearsay,
dozens of tuners in this city filled their bottles with it and ruined
thousands of wrest planks. Not that other brands wouldn't do just as
good a job of ruining them, but the tuners saved the $3.85/plank. This
wave went around the country for about 10-15 years.

Finally, tuners known to do this got a bad reputation, and suddenly the
entire guild ran as far away from pin tighteners the other way as they
could get.  They went from one ridiculous extreme to the other. Never
ever trying to find out if, in fact there was actually something to do
the job safely and permanently (as proven by the total lack of research
done by the PTG and admitted by Doug and Charles as well).

It was lots easier to just throw the baby out with the bathwater. Lump
all pin tighteners together and pretend they didn't exist. They are
presently in this mode yet today, fearful that they will be labeled,
otherwise.

Anybody who says they use it is immediately persona-non-grata. That's
why I did it! I enjoy being _their_ persona-non-grata. It gives me a
lot of pleasure and confidence. I enjoy it. Besides, I, and thousands
of other legitimate (but very quiet) users of Pin-Tite are not the
exception, and there are some very fine PTG techs I know who swear by
it! Just not very loudly, lest they be labeled a "hack," which pleases
some, and right here on this MMD page! That doesn't bother me. I know
what's right and I always stick up for those things.  People know they
can trust what I say.

I think that if a man does not fear what other people will think, he
will not simply go with the flow, but will be honest and curious about
trying to learn what and why. If anybody is actually interested, a
chemist could explain how a resin impregnation system is permanent and
cannot possibly hurt any wood product. I'm surprised that so far no one
has said, "I think it an important enough subject to warrant further
study, and to prove one way or the other." Instead, all I have read is,
"I don't know, and I don't care to find out."

The principle behind all of the early pin tighteners is this: Glycerine
in alcohol is absorbed by the wood. The alcohol evaporates, leaving
glycerine behind. Glycerine has a great affinity for moisture, and so,
draws water out of the air to join with it. As moisture is adsorbed, it
fills the spaces, increasing hydrostatic pressure in the plank. This
crushes the wood tightly around the pins until most of the space is
taken up by the moisture entrained.  The pins rust eventually, not from
the glycerine, but from the moisture in the air. The next thing that
happens is this: The glycerine migrates away from the pins and
gradually finds its way deep into the plank, where it no longer can be
of use. The powerful action of wood to wick liquids is stronger than
the glycerine's ability to stay where it is. So gradually, the water
then leaves the wood. When it does, it leaves behind a crushed cellular
structure which has destroyed the plank. Sometimes they can be repinned,
but it isn't likely. And the pin holes seem "mushy" to tune, and never
seem to hold a tuning.

If you had repinned several of these planks, only to have your
customers breathing fire down your neck, you would know why tuners ran
as fast as they could from pin tighteners.

Now comes Pin-Tite. It was formulated by a real live chemist who knew
how to do it. He ran years of experiments. I have spoken to his widow
about it, and the tests which were done to prove it. Her son today is a
professional chemist who supervises its manufacture and tests it. It
doesn't rely on water retention/compression at all! It is made from the
resins which come from wood and a delivery system which allows the wood
to _absorb_ it, NOT just entrain it. That means, it is not simply a
coating but an integral part of the pin hole area which chemically
reacts with cellulose, dries completely, and becomes a permanent part
of the plank again. There is nothing in Pin-Tite that does not come
from wood. The resultant tuning is a restored plank, with that nice
little pin "jump" restored, just like Bruce Clark and others want to
feel.

Pin-Tite will not work well on any plank previously treated with a
glycol or any other system which relies on water retention. You are
wasting your money.  However, despite the PTG's fearful silence on
Pin-Tite, you must realize that all of these products have been
advertised in the PTG Journal, and that all of these products are still
sold by the carload! And guess who buys them? PTG members! That,
friends, is the ultimate endorsement. It's just that they don't talk
about it anymore, lest the stigma is also applied to them. One day,
this will be corrected, but until physical principles are respected and
trusted, the same taint will be applied to all who use it. Ridiculous!

Craig Brougher