<HTML>In a message dated 12/22/= 00 7:56:17 AM Central Standard Time, tito@PhilBondi.com (Phil Bondi) writes: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-= LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">(showing my forever rookine= ss)..is there a technique for setting snappy tuning pins so when/if they want to move, they move less than they are n= ow? when they go, they really go. I THINK I know how to set a tuning pin..this situation in this environme= nt is getting the best of me. hopefully, the suggestions here will help me. </BLOCKQUOTE> Phil, I can hardly believe what you are calling  "frigid".  It's bel= ow Zero here but it's been colder and I know our Canadian friends would = call what you are experience a "heat wave". Your question is timely.  I have an off line question from one of o= ur European contributors that ties into it.  I have been thinking a= bout how to answer him for quite a while but didn't know exactly where t= o begin.  Here is the question: "I use alot of impact technic that I seen Jim Coleman do o= n a video. I think it's Ok to pull up the string with a impact way an= d then "push the pin and hit the key" it down if it didn't sit where I w= anted the first time. This works well on most pianos but I have trouble = with a few brands. [My teacher] wants me to learn to tune the usually way and I= suppose he's right about that. The problem is I find it difficult to control the pin by pus= hing it up" I'm sure there are and will be differing opinions about this but I have = had these same experiences too.  For the first 10 years I tuned, I = used a slow pull type technique.  Then, I attended my first convent= ion in Minneapolis in 1979.  There, I saw the late George Defebaugh= RPT and Jim Coleman RPT's lecture on tuning.  Although I have neve= r see the video spoken of, I assume it teaches essentially the same tech= niques I saw back then. I went home from that Convention and put into practice the things I lear= ned and by doing so, reduced the time it took me to tune by a very signi= ficant amount and increased my skill level from far below RPT standards = to high enough to Qualify as an Examiner Trainee in just two years. &nbs= p;The two most important elements were the Pitch Raising Technique and t= he Hammer Technique. Even today, I can try to tell other technicians what I learned then, as = George put it, "You can tune a piano twice, much faster and easier than = you can fight with it once" but I still see many who struggle, grunt and= groan their way through a two hour or more tuning that ends up quite in= accurate and unstable.  When the customer is told after that ordeal= , "I'll have to do it over again in two weeks", the decision is usually = made to try someone else next time. George emphasized that an impact type technique is the "most mechanicall= y correct way to [operate the tuning hammer and] move the string", accor= ding to him.  I have seen many people claim with the strongest conv= iction that the tuning hammer should be at 10 o'clock (on verticals) or = "in line with the strings", but both Jim and George proved that not to b= e true over 20 years ago. The answer to your tight and jumpy pins problem is to move them with qui= ck, jarring motions.  Yes, it will take practice.  You may not= be able to make the more subtle impact movements right away but with pr= actice, you'll get a feel for it. On the other hand, a slow pull technique only tends to bend and flex the= pin causing inevitable but unnecessary instability.  Next time you= get to tune a Steinway vertical and you have learned this technique, se= e if it does not go much easier.  I serviced one of those Steinway = consoles from the 1950's just yesterday and thought about that.  It= is a well designed, solid as a rock instrument with beautiful tone and = only marginally more difficult for me to tune than other pianos.  I= t's not anywhere near enough to complain about.  It was difficult h= owever to remove and replace the action for flange tightening. When using an impact type technique on a vertical with no plate bushings= and with the Tuning Hammer at 2 o'clock, any bending or twisting of the= pin is minimized and in the downward direction.  The string (when = raising the pitch) is jacked up through the bearing points.  It tak= es very little over pull.  It settles right down where it belongs a= nd stays. All modern Baldwin Grands are known for their tight and cracking tuning = pins.  An impact type technique is the best way to control them and= achieve the most stable results with ease and in the least amount of ti= me.  The only time I use a slow pull technique is on pianos with ma= rginally loose or nearly uncontrollable, low torque pins.  This kin= d of technique seems more like the way you would tune a harpsichord to m= e.  Generally, it is not the best way to try to tune a piano. Good luck, Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin</HTML>