<HEAD> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2600.0" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV>Way to go, Leslie!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Doug Neal also taught us to tune verticals left handed, grands right h= anded. That was career saving advice for me.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I also carry several tuning hammers.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I concur with what you say about tuning verticals to the left of = 12 o'clock.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Because of discussion on this list, I bought a Fujan tubular aluminum = hammer last week.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My first tuning with it was a troublesome grand piano with uneven pin = torque. It was much easier and faster to tune with the Fujan hammer; the mo= re sensitive feedback enabled me to avoid much of the "oops" delays of&nbsp= ;jumping pins. ( I hope to fit a tubular aluminum shaft on my imp= act hammer.)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Overall, I feel we should avoid the "one right way" approach to tuning= .  Variety of technic enables us to distribute stress and minimize rep= etitive motion injuries.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Ed Sutton<BR><BR><BR>-----Original Message----- <BR>From: Leslie Bartl= ett <L-BARTLETT@SBCGLOBAL.NET><BR>Sent: Nov 8, 2005 7:39 PM <BR>To: College= and University Technicians <CAUT@PTG.ORG><BR>Subject: RE: [CAUT] hand and = wrist position <BR><BR></DIV><ZZZHTML><ZZZHEAD><ZZZMETA content="text/htm= l; charset=US-ASCII" http-equiv="Content-Type"><ZZZMETA content="MSHT= ML 6.00.2900.2769" name="GENERATOR"></ZZZHEAD><ZZZBODY id=role_body sty= le="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" rightMargin="7= " topMargin="7" leftMargin="7" bottomMargin="7"> <DIV><SPAN class=911393300-09112005><FONT color=#0000ff>Why not bite th= e bullet and tune left handed?  Jim Geiger forced us students to tune = everything left-handed, and it was probably the wisest thing he did when I = was in school. I've been playing with an impact hammer, and placing it in t= he 10-12 o'clock position makes an incredible difference in the amount of f= orce needed to move the pin. Right handed tuners are usually at 1-2 o'clock= , where it take probably twice the torque to move the pin.  So you cou= ld save a lot of strain, and a lot of actual calories of work..... &nb= sp;    As I said in another post, I carry four hammers, and = it is not uncommon that I'll use them all on a single piano. It sort of spr= eads the strains out in different ways and so relieves me of just one way o= f dealing with the piano. I haven't learned how to feel the stability of th= e pin with the impact, but on a pitch raise, I'm completely sold, and will = continue till I learn to deal with the pins because I think it is a marvelo= us tool.  I got a cheap one from Schaff, and did a little work to put = a nice soft handle on it, like the $200-$300 ones, took a little of the wei= ght off the end, and will eventually probably use it exclusively on a lot o= f pianos.</FONT></SPAN></DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=911393300-09112005><FONT color=#0000ff>les</FONT></SPA= N></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahom= a>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:c= aut-bounces@ptg.org]<B>On Behalf Of </B>Wimblees@aol.com<BR><B>Sent:</B> Tu= esday, November 08, 2005 4:08 PM<BR><B>To:</B> caut@ptg.org<BR><B>Subject:<= /B> [CAUT] hand and wrist position<BR><BR></FONT></DIV><FONT id=role_docu= ment face=Arial color=#000000> <DIV>This is more or less related to the recent discussion about our hands = and wrists. We had a chapter meeting on Saturday at a Chiropractor's office= . He's been helping one of our members with aches and pains. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>When tuning an upright, right handed, he told me that the best positio= n to tune is to sit at a 45 degree angle to the piano, which is what I've b= een doing, but to hold my lever so that my hands are with the knu= ckles towards the pins. I was taught to hold the lever with my hand outstre= tched, with the thumb pointing down to the head, and my little finger at th= e top of the lever. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I haven't had the chance to tune an upright yet, but do any = of you hold the lever the way the Chiropractor suggests?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As far as a grand is concerned, we should hold the lever at then end, = with a ball. I've not been doing this either, but I know a lot of you are. = I'll get one, if there is one for sale, at the NCRC this weekend.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Wim  </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></ZZZBODY></ZZZHTML></BODY>