My Macassar Ebony Faulk hammer is 10 inches long. I haven't really tried a lot of different length hammers so I don't have a good reason for the 10 inches. I like it. I'm a jerk, I prefer to call it dynamic impact, as in I begin with light pressures and it may increase as I feel what is going on with the pin...this technique is really all over the place with changes...it certainly has times of just low torque on the pin and key action...what I like is the fluidity....coaxing the pin, and of course when fine tuning really little or no pin movement at all... I don't really understand the smooth pull technique...I've tried to do it many times to get a feel for it, but how do you know when the pin is going to move? With impacts I know the pin/tension is going change in tiny increments...Is it steady pressure starting lightly and increasing until the pin moves or the pitch changes...? I don't get it... David Ilvedson, RPT Pacifica, CA 94044 Original message From: "Bruce Dornfeld" To: pianotech Received: 2/22/2008 8:55:18 PM Subject: Tuning lever length The discussion of the new CF carbon fiber levers brings to mind a subject that I cannot remember seeing on pianotech. How long of a tuning lever works best for your basic tuning technique? A couple of years ago I gave a technical session for our chapter called "If I had The Hammer". It was a survey of the numerous tuning levers that can be purchased today as well as modifications that can be made. One observation I made is one that you, with your input to the list, can help us all understand better. I believe that tuners who use a smooth hammer technique prefer a longer lever and that tuners who use a jerk or impact technique benefit from a shorter lever. I have been using a jerk or impact technique for at least twenty five years now. I have gone through many tuning levers. I started with the long extension lever at 11 1/2 inches, but quickly changed to the shorter 10 inch one. The first Fujan lever I tried, in his early days, felt to me like walking on stilts. It might have been 15 inches long or longer, but I'm not sure about that. I currently use a Charles Falk lever that is 8 3/4 inches long and it has worked great for me for several years or more. But I think that's because I'm a jerk. I had a Jahn Pear handle hammer for a while. It was a nice light weight, but at 11 inches overall, it was just too long for me. I gave it to Robert Guenther, a CTE for our chapter, to try and he bought it from me. It has been his main lever for at least a couple of years now. Robert is a smoothie. That is, he uses a smooth or steady pull technique t! o tune. Most of you know if you are jerks or smoothies. What length tuning lever works best for your technique? Bruce Dornfeld, RPT Jerk Tuner bdornfeld at earthlink.net North Shore Chapter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20080222/4d32880c/attachment.html
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