The Harp Herald

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How to Tighten a Loose Tuning Pin

by Steve Moss | Sep 8, 2009 | Uncategorized | 8 comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_lxIj0OjyQ&hl=en&fs=1&]In response to a question from a client of mine, here’s a short video on how to tighten up loose tuning pins. It should work on any make of harp that has pins that run all the way through the neck, as opposed to the zither-type (or Autoharp type) pins that are screwed into the string side and tuned from the string side. As I explain in the video, tuning pins tend to work loose, especially when a string is replaced. All that is usually needed is to push them a little deeper into the hole in the neck. The hole is tapered to fit the shape of the pin, so the more you push them, the tighter they will feel and the better they will hold.

I’ve heard of people who try to accomplish this by whacking on the back end of the pins with a hammer or mallet. While this should theoretically work, in practice it rarely seems to, and there’s the danger of that hammer going where you don’t want it to. Try my approach and see how it works for you.

A note about those lever harps that do use pedal harp string names: depending on size, part of the first octave may be missing. 34 string harps such as the Lyon & Healy Ogden go up to first octave A. 36 string Troubadours go up to first C. I mentioned earlier that the highest complete octave on a pedal harp is the first, and strings above it are in the zero octave. On some lever harps, the highest complete octave is the second, not the first. More confusion, especially considering that many people own smaller harps when they are new to the harp. For this reason, we’ve also created string charts for common lever harp models, and you can find those here.

On a smaller lever harp, the highest complete octave may be the second, not the first.

8 Comments

BethToddCreatz on November 10, 2010 at 7:04 pm

Thank you so much for this great video! It helped me tremendously!
Reply
Betty on November 26, 2016 at 4:52 am

Thank you for this video! Worked like a charm!!
Reply
- Steve Moss on November 26, 2016 at 8:16 pm
  
  You’re welcome!
  Reply
CorvetteMom on December 21, 2016 at 1:54 pm

I was told (haven’t done it yet) to pull the pin out, put a layer of crazy glue on it, let it completely set up, then replace it, and it should fit. The harp is new. 42″ tall
Reply
- Steve Moss on December 21, 2016 at 2:06 pm
  
  I have never heard of that approach. My sense is that it would be very hard to get an even layer of glue on the pin, which could make a poor fit, even if the pin were tighter. I wouldn’t recommend this unless you’re prepared to replace the pin with an oversized one (which requires reaming the hole) in the event that it makes things worse.
  Reply
  - CorvetteMom on December 21, 2016 at 6:22 pm
    
    You are the Harp-GURU!!! Thank You So Much! Your expertise is Awesome!!!
    Reply
Shelley Laidler on March 6, 2019 at 9:23 am

I have a carbon fibre harp with wooden soundboard and the pins get loose often its very frustrating! Would you have any suggestions as to why carbon fibre would have this issue? I would have thought it less likely
Thanks
Reply
- Steve Moss on March 12, 2019 at 1:26 am
  
  Shelley,
  I’m sorry, I haven’t run into this issue on carbon fiber harps yet. Have you checked with the manufacturer for tips on how to deal with it?
  Reply

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