At this point I had originally intended to talk more about the pin-block assembly, and how it might be properly recreated. Instead I will move on to the removal of the hitch pin panel. The last remaining part of the plate. This will give some time to think about the pin-block stretcher assembly. The previous restorer did not manage to remove the hitch-pin panel, the photo above shows why. He did chisel around the perimeter of the plate, because he thought that perhaps the plate was built into the rim. This is perfectly understandable, as many American pianos, of this period, have just this type of structure. Had he not done this I probably would have done it myself, but as luck would have it I benefited from his 20-20 hindsight. This allowed me to look elsewhere. What I found was this; the plate bar support blocks on the hitch panel, are actually the heads of very large bolts, which penetrate the hitch panel, its support block, and almost entirely though the inner rim. After these,...