Electric Shank Bender

[Dave Nereson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Day" <pianotoone@hotmail.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2003 1:02 PM
Subject: Electric Shank Bender


> Never have used these.  Butr it seems they would burn the shank.  Do you put 
> water on the shank.
> What is the technique for using these pliers or the ones you heat up with a 
> torch
> Or how do the rest of you bend warped hammer shanks (w/o the bending pliers)
> Thanks
> Dick Day
> Marshall MI
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives

    I prefer to use a heat gun.  Usually they come with "nozzles", or extensions that curl around in a 1 inch cylinder shape, which keeps nearby stuff from getting scorched.  You just pass it up and down the shank for 15 - 20 seconds, then twist the shank in the direction you want it to go, with a slight overshoot to allow for its tendency to relax back in the opposite direction.  Just takes a little practice.  The old cedar shanks scorch much easier than maple ones, and they're more brittle (can't twist 'em too far or they snap). 
    In extreme cases, I pull the hammer off and reglue.
    Using open flame in the customer's home makes me nervous.  I've done it on occasion, but more often for heating a hammer iron.  [Some carpets melt/burn so readily that a match head will leave a half-inch diameter "crater" that looks like acid dripped on it].        --David Nereson, RPT