<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2523" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT size=2>One of my treasured tools from my grandfather is a = brace and bit, like this one:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><A href="http://tinyurl.com/3qu7o">http://tinyurl.com/3qu7o</A></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>When I first complained about the awkward position = of tuning a tall upright, my dear wife wondered if this tool might not work.  I = haven't tried it; has anyone else?  Schaff even has a socket that will fit = it (No. 25, p.46).</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>You might not have much fine control, but it might = be the right tool for this kind of job.  It would sure be a lot more = ergonomic on your back.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>--Cy Shuster--</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Bluefield, WV</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com href="mailto:mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com">Farrell</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, November 12, 2004 = 5:56 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Impact Tuning = Hammers</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Just thought I'd report in on the = aftermath of the dreaded K-52.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I slayed the beast!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The pins on this thing were tight, = but not as bad as some. The piano was about 10 cents flat and kind of all over the = place. I did a pitch raise with the impact lever and a fine tuning pass with my = fancy Keith Bowman lever (NC conference door prize from several years ago!!!).</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I can see that the impact lever will = take some getting used to. The pitch raise took me a full hour (hey, first time = with a new type lever dude - back off!). One thing I started doing after just = a few notes - as my right hand started to freak-out from the new motion = - was to use my left hand on the lever also. I'll train myself to be an = ambidextrous impact lever tuner! I've got a screwed up right arm, and I really = think this will be an asset to my ability to pay my mortgage and buy lots of spruce.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I think I'll try and force myself to = do all vertical pitch raises with the impact lever. I figure that will be a = good harmless way of getting used to controlling it. Any experienced = opinions on that?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>After the pitch raise, I spent 90 = minutes tuning that &$*(# thing. I guess it has been a while since I did one of = these, but WOW, they really are a different beast. I can't really even = describe how the pitch goes all over the place when you try to turn the tuning pin. = Flagpoling, bending, warping, skewing, stretching, whatever - man, = there is just something really scwewy with those things. I'll keep my = four-letter thoughts to myself (but rest assured, I have them - plenty of them!). = A very frustrating piano to tune.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Terry Farrell</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>