One of the biggest challenges involved in restoring uprights is replacing the pinblock. To remove the plate without tearing out the keybed, etc., can be impossible. A 40″ Steinway console with loose tuning pins came to our shop this summer. With no other option than pinblock replacement we set about to just that. This particular Steinway was a 1953 100 year anniversary edition, so taking apart the cabinet wasn’t an option. Instead we used a drill press w/ 1.5″ Forster drill bit to remove the original pinblock. The block did not have a ‘notch’ , but was butted against the plate along a simple straight line. Drilling out the old block was a slow, painstaking process which required patience.