David, <br><br>Yours & Terry's method sound the closest to my method. I keep constant pressure on the pin with the tuning lever & try to gently "nudge" the pin to move in tiny increments. With really tight pins of course, the pitch may change a good bit before one actually feels the pin move. So I guess I could be considered a gentle jerk! <br>
<br>Avery Todd<br>Houston, TX<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Feb 23, 2008 at 12:18 AM, David Ilvedson <<a href="mailto:ilvey@sbcglobal.net">ilvey@sbcglobal.net</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
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<p>My Macassar Ebony Faulk hammer is 10 inches long. I haven't really tried a lot of different length hammers so I don't have a good reason for the 10 inches. I like it. I'm a jerk, I prefer to call it dynamic impact, as in I begin with light pressures and it may increase as I feel what is going on with the pin...this technique is really all over the place with changes...it certainly has times of just low torque on the pin and key action...what I like is the fluidity....coaxing the pin, and of course when fine tuning really little or no pin movement at all...</p>
<p>I don't really understand the smooth pull technique...I've tried to do it many times to get a feel for it, but how do you know when the pin is going to move? With impacts I know the pin/tension is going change in tiny increments...Is it steady pressure starting lightly and increasing until the pin moves or the pitch changes...? I don't get it...</p>
<p>David Ilvedson, RPT<br>Pacifica, CA 94044<br><br></p>
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<hr>Original message<br>From: "Bruce Dornfeld"
<br>To: pianotech
<br>Received: 2/22/2008 8:55:18 PM<br>Subject: Tuning lever length<div><div></div><div class="Wj3C7c"><br><br>
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<div align="left">The discussion of the new CF carbon fiber levers brings to mind a subject that I cannot remember seeing on pianotech. How long of a tuning lever works best for your basic tuning technique? A couple of years ago I gave a technical session for our chapter called "If I had The Hammer". It was a survey of the numerous tuning levers that can be purchased today as well as modifications that can be made. One observation I made is one that you, with your input to the list, can help us all understand better. I believe that tuners who use a smooth hammer technique prefer a longer lever and that tuners who use a jerk or impact technique benefit from a shorter lever.</div>
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<div>I have been using a jerk or impact technique for at least twenty five years now. I have gone through many tuning levers. I started with the long extension lever at 11 1/2 inches, but quickly changed to the shorter 10 inch one. The first Fujan lever I tried, in his early days, felt to me like walking on stilts. It might have been 15 inches long or longer, but I'm not sure about that. I currently use a Charles Falk lever that is 8 3/4 inches long and it has worked great for me for several years or more. But I think that's because I'm a jerk. I had a Jahn Pear handle hammer for a while. It was a nice light weight, but at 11 inches overall, it was just too long for me. I gave it to Robert Guenther, a CTE for our chapter, to try and he bought it from me. It has been his main lever for at least a couple of years now. Robert is a smoothie. That is, he uses a smooth or steady pull technique t! o tune.</div>
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<div>Most of you know if you are jerks or smoothies. What length tuning lever works best for your technique? </div>
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<div>Bruce Dornfeld, RPT Jerk Tuner</div>
<div><a href="mailto:bdornfeld@earthlink.net" target="_blank">bdornfeld@earthlink.net</a></div>
<div>North Shore Chapter</div>
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