[pianotech] A better tip wrench that you already have!

[John Formsma]

Ryan,

I intended to respond to this earlier -- oops. Gosh, I must not have been
awake when I wrote that. Clearly the Levitan lever was designed to avoid
needing to change HEADS and not tips. Sorry, *my* head obviously wasn't
working. :-)

Perhaps I'm just plain lazy, but I use a Watanabe #2 tip on my Fujan lever
for all pianos. It works well enough for all that I don't personally see the
need for changing tips. I can see the potential or theoretical benefit from
a better fit on a tuning pin. But ... I don't know if chasing around the
*best* fit and changing tips that often would work for me. I suppose I've
learned to compensate.

That being said, I do prefer a Jahn tip to a Watanabe, and particularly a #3
for most pianos. However, since it doesn't fit on the Fujan without making a
custom-machined part, I just git-r-done with the Watanabe.

Not saying my head is working today either, but there you have it. :-)

--
JF



On Fri, Apr 2, 2010 at 10:57 AM, Ryan Sowers <tunerryan at gmail.com> wrote:

> How could one tip fit all? I find I like a #1 tip for most older uprights
> and some Steinways. A number 2 works for most pianos, and I like to have a
> number 3 for pianos that have been restrung with oversize pins. Sometimes I
> like the number 3 for pitch raises because it goes on the pins more quickly.
>
>
> When I first started out I used a #2 tip for everything. About 10 years ago
> I started getting pickier about the fit of the tip on the pin. Especially
> with the Levitan lever. The extra rigidity gives great feedback making the
> fit seem even more noticeable.
>
> On Fri, Apr 2, 2010 at 7:32 AM, John Formsma <formsma at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Great thinking, Ryan.
>>
>> I was under the impression that the Levitan lever was designed to work on
>> most any piano without the need to change tips. For which piano(s) are you
>> needing to change tips, and why?
>>
>> A 15º head with the extension on my Fujan works with every piano I tune
>> regularly. Before, I was using a 5º with extension, and it didn't work on a
>> few. There are two pianos I tune that need the thin-wall tip. I keep an old
>> Hale with that tip in the trunk. When I need it, it's always there, and I
>> don't have to worry about fiddling with changing tips.
>>
>> --
>> JF
>>
>>
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