professional piano tuning wrench

Dear Paul Poletti, et al.

I would like to obtain a professional & elegant piano tuning wrench fitting
several sizes of tuning pins, preferably German-design, with a wooden
handle. Can you suggest a brand and provide an internet address for online
purchase?

Cordially,
Oz.

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Ozan Yarman" <ozanyarman@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Paul Poletti, et al.
>
> I would like to obtain a professional & elegant piano tuning
> wrench fitting several sizes of tuning pins, preferably
> German-design, with a wooden handle. Can you suggest a brand
> and provide an internet address for online purchase?
>
> Cordially,
> Oz.

The best hammers in the world are:

http://www.faulkpiano.com/TuningHammer/

Otherwise, pick one from:

http://pianosupply.com

-Carl

Carl, thank you most kindly. I was unfortunate enough to purchase a kit from
pianosupply.com in the near past. The wrench I have at hand is likely a
sloppy product of China that ruined the tuning pin heads of my Bechstein
grand. I am most dissatisfied with it.

Furthermore, I may need to completely replace the pin blocks now, since I
have mishandled the pins due to inexperience. I notice that shifting the
hammer up and down to achieve fine-calibration has a practicable limit
before the pin block can any longer respond. Sad to say, the treble pinblock
seems to have worn down.

I have written to Charles Faulk upon your indication. Hopefully, his hammers
will accomodate several sizes of tuning pins.

Thank you once more,
Oz.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Carl Lumma" <carl@lumma.org>
To: <tuning@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: 13 Mart 2008 Per�embe 17:54
Subject: [tuning] Re: professional piano tuning wrench

> --- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Ozan Yarman" <ozanyarman@...> wrote:
> >
> > Dear Paul Poletti, et al.
> >
> > I would like to obtain a professional & elegant piano tuning
> > wrench fitting several sizes of tuning pins, preferably
> > German-design, with a wooden handle. Can you suggest a brand
> > and provide an internet address for online purchase?
> >
> > Cordially,
> > Oz.
>
> The best hammers in the world are:
>
> http://www.faulkpiano.com/TuningHammer/
>
> Otherwise, pick one from:
>
> http://pianosupply.com
>
> -Carl
>

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Ozan Yarman" <ozanyarman@...> wrote:
>
> Carl, thank you most kindly. I was unfortunate enough to purchase
> a kit from pianosupply.com in the near past. The wrench I have at
> hand is likely a sloppy product of China that ruined the tuning
> pin heads of my Bechstein grand. I am most dissatisfied with it.

You must have got their low-end hammer. I have a Hale from
them and it's a fine tool. Hale is the standard brand among
pro tuners, actually.

> Furthermore, I may need to completely replace the pin blocks
> now, since I have mishandled the pins due to inexperience.

I doubt that. An old wives tale, mostly, used by piano tuners
to scare people off from trying it themselves.

> I notice that shifting the hammer up and down to achieve
> fine-calibration has a practicable limit before the pin block
> can any longer respond. Sad to say, the treble pinblock
> seems to have worn down.

Sounds odd. The only job of the pinblock is to securely
hold the pins. Is your piano going out of tune very rapidly,
or are certain pins slipping as you try to tune them?

-Carl

----- Original Message -----
From: "Carl Lumma" <carl@lumma.org>
To: <tuning@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: 13 Mart 2008 Per�embe 19:55
Subject: [tuning] Re: professional piano tuning wrench

> --- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Ozan Yarman" <ozanyarman@...> wrote:
> >
> > Carl, thank you most kindly. I was unfortunate enough to purchase
> > a kit from pianosupply.com in the near past. The wrench I have at
> > hand is likely a sloppy product of China that ruined the tuning
> > pin heads of my Bechstein grand. I am most dissatisfied with it.
>
> You must have got their low-end hammer.

Possibly. I just glued back the handle in its place, which is made of rubber
with rosewood texture coating.

I have a Hale from
> them and it's a fine tool. Hale is the standard brand among
> pro tuners, actually.
>

I still think Jahn or gooseneck type hammers are better. If I were to
continue using my old hammer, which has Hale type circular head and star
tip, how can I acquire the best different sized tuning lever tips in the
market?

> > Furthermore, I may need to completely replace the pin blocks
> > now, since I have mishandled the pins due to inexperience.
>
> I doubt that. An old wives tale, mostly, used by piano tuners
> to scare people off from trying it themselves.
>

You comfort me by saying so.

> > I notice that shifting the hammer up and down to achieve
> > fine-calibration has a practicable limit before the pin block
> > can any longer respond. Sad to say, the treble pinblock
> > seems to have worn down.
>
> Sounds odd. The only job of the pinblock is to securely
> hold the pins. Is your piano going out of tune very rapidly,
> or are certain pins slipping as you try to tune them?
>

Yes, I'd say the tuning decays fairly rapidly. Could be that I'm banging the
keys too hardly by playing forte forte fortissimo now and then. But still,
the tuning should not deteriorate in a matter of days. Maybe the pinblock
has gone bad altogether. There are one or two pins which sometimes slip in
the bass regions. Some strings, especially in the treble regions, become
loose too quickly. Tuning them is a pain too.

> -Carl
>
>

Oz.

> I still think Jahn or gooseneck type hammers are better. If I
> were to continue using my old hammer, which has Hale type
> circular head and star tip, how can I acquire the best
> different sized tuning lever tips in the market?

Last I checked, pianosupply.com sold a complete range.

> > > I notice that shifting the hammer up and down to achieve
> > > fine-calibration has a practicable limit before the pin block
> > > can any longer respond. Sad to say, the treble pinblock
> > > seems to have worn down.
> >
> > Sounds odd. The only job of the pinblock is to securely
> > hold the pins. Is your piano going out of tune very rapidly,
> > or are certain pins slipping as you try to tune them?
>
> Yes, I'd say the tuning decays fairly rapidly. Could be that
> I'm banging the keys too hardly by playing forte forte
> fortissimo now and then. But still, the tuning should not
> deteriorate in a matter of days. Maybe the pinblock has gone
> bad altogether.

Hold old is it?

> There are one or two pins which sometimes slip in the bass
> regions. Some strings, especially in the treble regions,
> become loose too quickly. Tuning them is a pain too.

Two pins isn't the end of the world. You could try some
pin tightener, or look up the superglue method on the
pianotech list. Clark P. once told me that a drop of
superglue had been discovered to be a cure-all for loose
pins, but I wouldn't try it without refreshing my memory
on that.

-Carl

----- Original Message -----
From: "Carl Lumma" <carl@lumma.org>
To: <tuning@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: 13 Mart 2008 Per�embe 23:16
Subject: [tuning] Re: professional piano tuning wrench

> > I still think Jahn or gooseneck type hammers are better. If I
> > were to continue using my old hammer, which has Hale type
> > circular head and star tip, how can I acquire the best
> > different sized tuning lever tips in the market?
>
> Last I checked, pianosupply.com sold a complete range.
>

I purchased some schaff/hale tuning hammer tips and heads. Hopefully, they
shall fit with the one I have in my possession.

> > > > I notice that shifting the hammer up and down to achieve
> > > > fine-calibration has a practicable limit before the pin block
> > > > can any longer respond. Sad to say, the treble pinblock
> > > > seems to have worn down.
> > >
> > > Sounds odd. The only job of the pinblock is to securely
> > > hold the pins. Is your piano going out of tune very rapidly,
> > > or are certain pins slipping as you try to tune them?
> >
> > Yes, I'd say the tuning decays fairly rapidly. Could be that
> > I'm banging the keys too hardly by playing forte forte
> > fortissimo now and then. But still, the tuning should not
> > deteriorate in a matter of days. Maybe the pinblock has gone
> > bad altogether.
>
> Hold old is it?
>

I surmise that my particular Bechstein Grand is anywhere from 50 to 70 years
old.

> > There are one or two pins which sometimes slip in the bass
> > regions. Some strings, especially in the treble regions,
> > become loose too quickly. Tuning them is a pain too.
>
> Two pins isn't the end of the world. You could try some
> pin tightener, or look up the superglue method on the
> pianotech list. Clark P. once told me that a drop of
> superglue had been discovered to be a cure-all for loose
> pins, but I wouldn't try it without refreshing my memory
> on that.
>

Thanks.

> -Carl
>
>

Oz.

> > Hold old is it?
>
> I surmise that my particular Bechstein Grand is anywhere
> from 50 to 70 years old.

If it's the original pinblock, it certainly could be bad
(but not necessarily).

-Carl