I use an impact hammer for pitch raising some of the nasty stuff I work on. I find that string breakage is reduced. (Seems that way, anyway). I have tried to fine tune with one, but I believe the learning curve is too long to justify using it, as I don't see the need. If I were troubled by Tendentious or possible other muscle problems, I think I would be more inclined to refine my use of it. I also use a Hale Speed Tuning Hammer for those times when I'm dealing with "Accu-twist", super tight tuning pins. My Regular tuning hammer is the Hale Rosewood/adjustable, (Which I never adjust!). With many combinations of heads and tips, this setup has served me well. Oh, I forgot, I do have a Ford "Shorty" that is fixed with a thin wall tip, for those occasional close tuning pins, etc. This hammer is very good for dealing with real loose pins, as it is much lighter than my other hammers. Finally, for my Square Grand and Bird-Cage work, I use my collection of "antique hammers, (mostly very Olde Hale Hammers and tips). As the size of the olde Hale hammers were different and the tips were sized different, this special tuning kit gets me from size #1 (No, not #1/0), to size #7 Tuning pins, also including the dreaded "Oval" tuning pins. Well, there you have it. I guess what I'm trying to say is that no one tuning Hammer does it all. There is a tuner in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State, that uses the Impact tuning hammer exclusively. He has a very good tuning reputation. Incidentally, he will be giving a class on that very subject for the upcoming Pacific Northwest Regional, this coming week. Oh, his name is Don Simmonson. He has an e-mail address, which is: K7DRZ@mindspring.com . He's an all around good guy and would probably be willing to give you some pointers. Best Regards, Joe Garrett, RPT, (Oregon)
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