bonker

[John Baird]

Photos attached.
1) felt striker
2) wrist brace striker (prosthesis ?)1
3) wrist brace striker (prosthesis ?) 2
 
I make key strikers out of scrap hammer felt, shaping them to fit  
comfortably in my hand on the belt sander. When they get dirty, you can  
remove a layer of felt with the belt sander -- over time, of  
course, this cleaning reduces the size of the striker.
 
Wrist tendonitis bothers me for a few days every year during heavy  
tuning seasons. Wearing a wrist brace (available at medical supply  
stores) relieves only a small amount of the pressure on the wrist, but  
gluing a felt striker onto the brace directly under the wrist, relieves  
all of the pressure, and feels very good. The brace has a metal bar  
that distributes the impact over several inches of your arm. There are  
two problems: 1) This places your hand farther forward, even into the  
fallboard, especially when striking the black keys. This is solved  
somewhat by angling your arm. 2) The slightly different sitting  
position can cause other aches and pains.
 
John Baird 
 

[Photos at:]
 
https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/files/attachments/a0/ba/8f/7f/ 
bonkersfeltpiecese.JPG

https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/files/attachments/fe/7e/76/ea/ 
bonkersonwristbracee.JPG

https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/files/attachments/ee/8d/5a/da/ 
bonkersonwristbracewithjackete.JPG

[Alternate URLs]

http://tinyurl.com/euyr

http://tinyurl.com/euys

http://tinyurl.com/euyw