I got one of those $200 electric hammershank pliers ( when they were available ) and they worked gioriously until one of the elements burnt out ( especially for twisting shanks, as the cauls themselves are straight ). Anyone know where to get re-placement elements? All these things are, I believe, are modified professional hair-curling irons, so elements SHOULD be available, but the letters on them ( itty bitty ) are in Gereman, and me no speke. Euphonious Thumpe --- On Sat, 2/28/09, Porritt, David <dporritt at mail.smu.edu> wrote: > From: Porritt, David <dporritt at mail.smu.edu> > Subject: Re: [pianotech] Tool for hammer burning > To: "pianotech at ptg.org" <pianotech at ptg.org> > Date: Saturday, February 28, 2009, 9:27 AM > Andrew: > > I don't do any field work anymore so it's handy for > me but I only use a heat gun for "burning" shanks. > That's one of the ironies of our nomenclature, in > "burning" shanks you're actually not supposed > to burn them! > > dp > > > David M. Porritt, RPT > dporritt at smu.edu > > -----Original Message----- > From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org > [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Andrew > Cherry > Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2009 12:50 AM > To: pianotech at ptg.org > Subject: [pianotech] Tool for hammer burning > > Hello- > > I'm a student at the Chicago School for Piano > Technology, and this is > my first time posting on the list (though I've been > lurking for some > time); greetings to everyone! > > We recently covered burning hammer shanks in class, and > after noticing > how much carbon has to be cleaned off the shank due to the > open flame, > it occurred to me to try a tool I had at home. It's > the Weller > Pyropen Jr. (WSTA6), which is a small portable > butane-powered > soldering iron that also comes with a hot air tip. > It's the latter > mode that I decided to try for hammer burning, since the > hot air won't > cause carbon deposits the way an open flame would. I > figured that if > it was hot enough to melt solder it might work for hammers > (according > to the spec sheet, it generates hot air at around 800 > degrees F). > Paul Revenko-Jones and I tried it out tonight, and sure > enough, it > worked quite well! Paul mentioned that he uses a heat gun > for such > things, but that it's more cumbersome to deal with, and > the Pyropen is > cordless and small enough to easily throw into a tool bag. > I got > mine at a local Fry's for about $50 (note, you need to > buy a can of > butane as well, it doesn't come with fuel) so it's > not as cheap as an > aim-n-flame but not super expensive either. Besides, I > seem to > remember some previous talk on the list about piano tuners > rolling in > doe, bucks, etc. :-) > > It also works well for its primary purpose as a soldering > iron (and > heats up in less than a minute). The only complaint I have > about mine > is that it's occasionally a bit reluctant to ignite, > but I don't know > if all of them are like that or just mine. > > Anyway, I thought I'd mention it in case anyone else > might be > interested, since it seems like a nifty use of the tool, > and Paul > seemed pretty excited about it. :-) > > Here are some links. Fry's seems to have the best > price (like I said, > I bought mine at a local store.. instant gratification!): > > http://www.cooperhandtools.com/onlinecatalog/literature/55702.pdf > http://shop3.frys.com/product/2461450#detailed > > BTW, I have no affiliation with Weller, Fry's, etc; > just happy to find > that non-piano tools I already own come in handy for piano > tech work. > > Take care... > > -Andrew
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