Attention to detail does not end with building a great soundboard. The pinblock, strings, tuning pins and agraffes are also important . The pinblock, in particular, is vital to the piano's performance. It makes smooth, accurate and stable tuning possible, without which the piano is just a piece of furniture. While many cheaper substitutes have been used, pinblocks made from solid, quarter-sawn hard maple provide a durable grip on the pins while allowing for fluid and precise tuning. This is the type of pinblock found in golden-age pianos and has a proven record, lasting forty years or more. Eventually, the enormous force of the strings pulling on the tuning pins widens the holes at the top of the block, and the pins end up resting on the holes in the iron plate. To prevent this, and make the pinblock last even longer, I cap the top of the quarter-sawn maple pinblock with a material made from thin layers of beech that have been glued under great pressure. This dense cap is even tougher than hard maple and prevents the pins from leaning on the plate; yet it does not adversely influence the feel of the pins.

Less qualified shops will usually ignore the agraffes, but these little parts take a lot of stress over the years and should be replaced. I also use the highest quality tuning pins, wire and bass strings. They are more expensive, but I want my work to be the best it can be and definitely superior to the work found in factories today.

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