tuning hammer questions

[Susan Kline]

At 08:58 AM 8/12/2005 -0700, Nancy wrote:

>I'm wondering how you all grip your tuning hammers.

I use a lot of variety. I think that there is less likelihood
of repetitive stress injury if you keep changing your grip from
one minute to the next. Certain pianos and certain kinds of
tuning pins call for different approaches. For instance, there
are the recent Baldwin spinets and consoles. The pins are so
tight that one might curse or swear, if one felt so inclined.
For a piano like this, where it is simply hard to move the pin,
I like to put the hammer on it and than tap the hammer --
slap slap slap slap rhythmically, with an open palm. One can
vary the force of the blows so as to get the pin to move in
very small but equal increments. For a pitch raise with tight
pins, this seems to me to give the best results with the
least fatigue.

On other pianos, like the 1918 Hamilton I was tuning yesterday
evening, the pinblock is marginal, and one uses the most delicate
and sympathetic touch, to gently nudge and pull the pin with the
absolute minimum of force; and then one carefully lifts the hammer
from the pin in a sort of stealth motion, where the pin doesn't
get the slightest pressure on the sides.

I still needed CA for some of the notes ...

Variety ... and try different hammers, as well.

As for the test, it's the results which matter. They might notice
if you move the pin too far, but the testing isn't subjective like
that. There's a stability section where they hit the note with
a weight falling a certain distance, and of course if your work
isn't reasonably stable, the small shifts during the exam will
lose you points in the temperament section. But I wouldn't worry
about them grading you on your grip.

Susan