[CAUT] Re: Impact Tuning

Jeff Olson jlolson@cal.net
Mon, 20 Jun 2005 14:06:51 -0700


I was puzzled not to see more of a universal recommendation of impact 
wrenches here (for uprights).  I must be even more out of the loop than I'd 
imagined, because I've assumed for years that impact hammers had handily won 
over the market for upright piano tuning.

After a few weeks of using an impact wrench (generic Schaff design), I found 
a conventional wrench to be comparatively cumbersome, slow, and inaccurate 
for *most* upright pianos and tuning situations (large pitch raises and 
extremely tight pins are better served by conventional tuning wrenches, no 
doubt).

Again, I'm very surprised that impact hammers aren't universally preferred 
by those who actually use them regularly (given the sampling of opinion here 
is representative).

I liked the impact action so much, I even built an impact wrench for grand 
pianos, but I was never able to achieve a design that worked well for a 
variety of pin tightnesses in the horizontal position.

Best,

JeffO 



This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC