Steinway Vertical Climate Control, Tuning Lever Position

[Ken Burton]

            Bill,
            I hope you won't mind if I chime in again.
            My feeling is that no matter where you place the hammer handle,
you can get bothersome flagpoling. Even when the handle is parallel to the
strings, flagpoling occurs if you inadvertently lift up or push down on the
handle (back and forth on an upright.)
            So my suggestion is to place the handle in any position that is
comfortable for you, be aware of the flagpoling which you are causing and
just be sure to neutralize it before you leave each pin.(Of course, you have
to leave the pin with a little bend and twist because that is its natural
position due to the pull of the string.)
                        Ken Burton "Doctor Piano" Calgary Alberta
                                   kwburton@cadvision.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Bdshull@AOL.COM <Bdshull@AOL.COM>
To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Friday, February 05, 1999 4:48 PM
Subject: Re: Steinway Vertical Climate Control, Tuning Lever Position


>In a message dated 99-02-05 11:59:46 EST, you write:
>
><< Ken Burton wrote:
>
> > (snip...snip)
> >             Steinway uprights share a problem with Heintzman uprights
and
> > Mason and Risch pianos--they have a v-bar or capo system that tends to
> > produce severe friction as the wire tries to move. I call them "Type C"
> > pianos because the tuning pin often moves before the pitch changes.
>
>Ken,
>
> I don't remember enough about the Heintzman design to say anything about
>them,
> but the problem with the Steinway vertical is just the opposite.  There is
>not
> enough friction across the V-bar/pressure bar.  To get any semblance of a
> "tuned-duplex" system in the vertical design requires using either an
>extremely
> tall V-bar -- which is undesirable for a number of technical reasons -- or
an
> extremely shallow string deflection angle across the V-bar....
>
>Del>>
>
>Ken, Del, Newton, list:
>
>Thanks for your enlightening discussion on tuning the Steinway upright.
>
>This AM tuned a 1913 Vertegrand which I see every 6 months (Horace Greeley,
>you will remember it - owned by a dedicated violist and strings teacher).
It
>has had a humidity control system in it for at least 15 years (thanks,
Horace)
>- and is one of my easiest to tune pianos.  I believe that it would be a
nasty
>one except for the climate control system.   (Most of my post-El Nino
tunings
>have been 15-40% pitch raises.)  Original strings, no problem with rust at
>bearing points even if they hardly move (no pitch raise or lowerings to
do).
>I have often wondered if climate control might precipitate string rendering
>problems because of the lack of string movement required to tune the piano.
>However, these strings render very well.    I recognize that the older
pianos
>are more stable, but I have many rebuilt old Steinway uprights out there
too,
>and without climate control they still misbehave and are difficult to tune.
>It seems to me that if any piano needed a Damppchaser system, the Steinway
>upright does - not only to protect the piano, but to enhance the tuner's
>quality of life.
>
>By the way, would someone (Newton?)  clarify the references to the tuning
>lever position, the clock face and flagpoling.   What you and I have said
>about lever position is opposite, or I have misunderstood.  When I face a
>vertical piano I want the tuning lever as parallel to the string as
possible -
>facing the piano, that is either 12:00 or (although not possible) 6:00.
9:00
>would be with the lever parallel to the top of the piano.  It seems to me
(and
>this is what I try to do as a right handed tuner) that the least amount of
>pitch-affected flagpoling will result if I place the lever close to 12:00.
>If I am understanding you right, Newton, you recommend 9:00 - which seems
to
>me to maximize pitch-affected flagpoling (right angle to the string).  But
I
>might be missing something here - I often do - can you help?
>
>Bill Shull
>University of Redlands, Loma Linda University
>25826 Davis Way
>Loma Linda, CA  92354
>(909)  796-4226
>