Tuning Lever

[Blaine Hebert]

My dream tuning lever was an antique I found in a clock ship, and I 
loved tuning with it for several years, but eventually felt guilty at 
all of the wear I was putting on a historical instrument.  I found a 
reasonable match with the Schaff compact wrench using a short 10 degree 
Hale-style head.

Yesterday, while tuning on a new Chinese piano with somewhat tight pins 
the tip stripped off!  Either the metal was inadequate for the stress or 
the machining was poor.  The fit of the Schaff/Hale/American tip was 
very poor on the pins.  In my 32 years of tuning I have never had a 
wrench give out on me like this.

Has anyone else had trouble with Schaff tips, heads or levers?

Does anyone make a better quality head or tip that approximates the old 
Hale heads?

Blaine Hebert