Key Whakker

[Douglasmahard@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 02/06/2001 11:19:45 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
stan@pianoexperts.mb.ca writes:

<< By the way, Ken, the whole point of making it fairly heavy is to
 minimize muscle strain.  You simply allow the weight of the tool to drop
 on the keys from a few inches to provide consistant blows.  I suspect
 more keys have been broken with the 'karate-chop' test-blow technique
 that many feel is necessary for stability.
 
 Regards,
 
 Stan Kroeker
 Registered Piano Technician >>

Hi Stan,

My hunch is that the consistency of the force of the blow, i.e. the weight of 
the key pounder, leads to a more stable tuning. I want the pounder to do the 
work not my muscles.

Anyone finding they have to change the striking tip after awhile (maybe a 
year or two) because it gets dirty and/or flattened out? Like I mentioned 
previously, I use a bass hammer on the end of my brass rod, and have to 
change it for both reasons mentioned above.

Doug Mahard