On Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 9:27 PM, David Nereson <da88ve at gmail.com> wrote: > > << I am finding more flex than I like with the new lever.. this is getting > expensive! . . . . . > > Bruce Dornfeld, RPT > > bdornfeld at earthlink.net > > North Shore Chapter>> > > > > Exactly. I've also been thinking of getting a Fujan or Faulk, but I > can't just toss around $300 here, $300 there. > Me either. And I was almost ready to order the new Faulk, having read the glowing reviews. And I still might. If there is a return policy (just in case). > There doesn't seem to be much conclusive evidence favoring one brand or the > other. Yes, I know you can return them after 30 days if not satisfied. But > there seems to be too large a gray area in stiffness when it comes to the > interface of heads and tips with the handle. > I do believe Kent and Mike are correct about the head and tip making a big difference. The Watanabe on my Fujan is loose, but nothing too hard to get used to. I do prefer a Jahn tip, though. The #3 feels better to me than a #2. But ... it might be the individual tips I have, since there apparently are differences in manufacturing. With the Fujan, it's good to make sure the threads are tightened quite tightly at the ball end and head end. It affects the feel significantly. > Which lever *is *the most tolerant of frequent tip/head changes? I find > myself doing that quite often because of "overhangs" on upright plates, > exceedingly tall plate struts on grands, having to tune pianos that've been > re-pinned with anything from #3 to #7 (yes, #7) pins, etc. Don't know how > to decide. > I know with the Fujan, I've changed the heads numerous times. No sign of degradation. But the heads are $90, which is somewhat prohibitive if you've already spent $325 for one lever setup. I've never changed the tip on mine. I keep a homemade lever with a Jahn 15º head for those pianos with clearance problems. It's a 1/2" solid steel shaft with a billiard ball on the end. About 9 inches long, and it's pretty heavy. Got the idea from Ron Nossaman some time back. It works well, but I still keep going back to the Fujan. (Although I do prefer the feel of that totally round ball on the end.) I even made adapters to fit a Jahn head and tip in the Fujan shaft. I like the feel of that very well, but the weight is not balanced as well as I'd like. Fujan did a good job on his head as far as strength and weight go. I do think I'd like the balance of the new Faulk CF-A lever quite well. I might handle one of those at the convention to see what it feels like. And I've even thought of coming up with my own design. But machining costs are quite high just to chase a "what if." It's cheaper to try various levers to find the right fit. -- JF -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech_ptg.org/attachments/20090325/4601dbc1/attachment-0001.html>
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