Tuning Hammers, How Many?

[Alan Barnard]

One can get a little obsessive, it seems to me. (We love ya, Kent S., but
you've got hammers like Imelda Marcos had shoes! <G>)

I got caught up in that, too, but heck, you can only use one at a time.
I've sold all but three; here's what I kept and why:

1. The old "student" hammer from the Potter Course. It's emergency backup,
out in the truck, and because the head is fixed, it's great for turning
that odd pin that is so tight it can loosen regular heads. Use it in
restringing, very light and I don't care if it gets beat up a little in the
constant tool shifting required for that work.

2. A Saucier Wonder-Wand. Inexpensive, very light, long shank for good
torque and control, balanced so you can move from pin to pin quickly. Use
on many pianos with average pin tightness. The secret to happiness with the
WW, by the way, is to smear some mixed-up epoxy on the threads of the head
and screw it on the shank. Otherwise the head flops and drives ya nuts. If
you like to change heads when you change tips, this is probably not the
hammer for you.

3. Jahn Ball-end extension hammer: It's my truck, not cheap, German made
and very well engineered. Heads are reversible for different angles. All
head and tip threads are cylindrical, rather than conical, with long
threads so cross-threading damage and joint loosening don't happen the way
they have on other hammers, for me. Rigid with a little helpful, pin-moving
mass. Use this on tight blocks, e.g., Hamiltons, especially in the treble
where I feel I have much better control without noticeable flex in the
shaft. I often extend it 1 to 3 inches for additional torque and the
ability to turn it through a larger arc under my hand with, still, a small
change at the pin. Have several tips, including 3-inchers for getting over
those pesky high-treble grand parts.

I bought one of the Faulk hammers. It is a wonderful piece of engineering
and very beautiful in an artistic sense, too. But I sold it because, being
short in shank and overall length, it lacks the torque I feel I need for
control and to get tight pins moving. It would substitute nicely for my
number 2 section above but for number 3 I found it too much work and too
hard to micro-control in the treble. I think others, with different hammer
techniques, etc., might not be bothered with this, but I ended up selling
it in favor of my "regulars."

As to impact hammers: I've never tried one but I ought to because I
frequently finger-slap and even palm-whack the hammer. On some pianos I can
jar the thing right into tune with a stable pin, other times, it doesn't
work at all. I haven't figured out why except that on REALLY tight blocks,
I guess I'm just not wacking hard enough and I don't care to bruise myself
for the cause. (sorry for the technical jargon, there, with terms like
"palm-whack" that may have gone over the heads of newbies and the
jargon-challenged <G>)

Alan Barnard
Salem, Missouri