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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:kenrpt@cvn.net" title=kenrpt@cvn.net>Ken =
Jankura</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org"
title=pianotech@ptg.org>pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, February 06, =
2001 6:15
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Key Whakker</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>I also use one, but why some people would make it heavy is beyond =
me. As
if<BR>your arm doesn't weigh enough. Also, the technique of a quick =
wrist
flick<BR>almost assures that you can break hammer shanks or keys at =
will
:-) Mine is<BR>wood, 3/8" by 3/4" by 5" with hammer felt on the =
end. The
rectangular shape<BR>is useful to orient it in your hand so you can =
turn it a
little and have<BR>better aim at the sharps. I don't tune without it. =
My
fingers used to get<BR>really sore, not anymore. It's attached with =
elastic
and allows me to play<BR>intervals or music at any time. Sometimes I'm =
so
happy to be using it, I<BR>break into song.<BR>Ken Jankura =
RPT<BR><BR>>
Terry,<BR>> At 22:39 02/05/2001 -0500, you wrote:<BR>><BR>>
>Anyone else use such an apparatus or something similar like a
padded<BR>dowel<BR>> >or such? Did the sore arm thing go away? =
What has
been anyone else's<BR>> >experience?<BR>> ><BR>> >I =
have
pictures is anyone is interested.<BR>><BR>><BR>> Yes, many =
years ago
I made myself a lead filled dowel with hammer felt<BR>> glued on =
the
end.<BR>> Pictures also on =
request...<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>>
Conrad Hoffsommer - Music Technician <A
=
href="mailto:-mailto:hoffsoco@luther.edu">-mailto:hoffsoco@luther.edu</=
A><BR>>
Luther College, 700 College Drive, Decorah, Iowa 52101-1045<BR>>
Voice-(319)-387-1204 // Fax
(319)-387-1076(Dept.office)<BR>><BR>> Education is the best =
defense
against the media.<BR>><BR>><BR>></DIV>
<DIV>Yes, I use a key pounder. Used to use two upright hammers =
glued
tail-to-tail. It saved the fingertips, but wasn't heavy
enough. Then a leather-worker friend of mine folded over a piece =
of
fairly thick leather roughly 3 in. x 3 in., sewed it up, filled it =
with lead
shot, and added a rectangular "foot" on the bottom, which I can =
replace when
it gets worn, and I've used it for more than 10 years. It's =
heavy enough
to give my key-pounding hand a little extra momentum, eliminating the =
impact
to the finger joints and fingertip nerve endings, but not so heavy as =
to be
tiring. I try to keep an almost-stiff wrist, letting the weight =
of my
forearm contribute to the blow also -- just enough to settle the =
strings, not
so much as to break a shank or string. I also wear one of those =
tennis
player elastic Ace-bandage-type wrist braces on my pounding =
hand. I tune
grands right-handed and uprights left-handed to distribute the =
abuse, and
pause often to extend my elbow, flex my wrists, rotate my =
shoulder,
etc. Don't stare at the tuning pins the whole time -- look =
around the
room, up, down, left, right. Same when regulating; holding your
head/neck in the same position for long periods can lead to a stiff
neck. I found out the painful way. </DIV>
<DIV> Another technician I know uses a small =
ball-pein
hammer with a rubber pad glued to the face of it as his key =
bonker. The
one in the current issue of the <U>Journal </U>looks a bit =
unwieldy to
me, but to each his own, I guess.</DIV>
<DIV>I've even heard of key pounders for octaves, which I was =
considering
making, until I started using an SAT and didn't need one any =
more.
</DIV>
<DIV> I can still get a sore arm if I do a two-pass =
pitch
raise plus final tuning on a stubborn piano, but this is rare.</DIV>
<DIV>--Dave Nereson, RPT, Denver</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>