At 11:37 PM 3/14/97 -0700, Glenn wrote: >I am a new tech and want to buy a good tuning hammer. I already have a >piece of junk so this next one is going to be the last one (hopefully!). I have a "fistful of hammers" here... some of them dating back to the last century. The hammer with which I learned to tune was one of two hand-made by my grandfather in the Martin-Orme piano factory in Ottawa 95 years ago. The handles are turned from brazilian rosewood with brass collars and are extendable with a set screw. One was for conventional pianos and the other has a double head for those pianos with oblong pins. In general I prefer tuning levers with wooden handles to those with plastic or rubber ones. My brother, who learned with the same tools, prefers the rubber handles. Go figure! My favourites are the Hale extension hammers made in the early part of this century, partly because their slim shape matches my grandfather's hammers. They had an octagonal shaft made from extremely hard steel which are threaded at each end. If you can find an old one somewhere they can be a hammer for several lifetimes (mine have gone through three generations so far), even if you have to make new handles for them. Many tuners seem to like the Watanabe hammers, but I've never actually used one. They appear to be similar to the newer Hales, with a keyed round shaft. The last new hammer I bought was a Schaff, but I didn't care for the rather bulky shape very much. When the handle cracked I had a local tuner (Hi Mike!) turn me a new one from African Blackwood (It has another name that starts with Z) with the same dimensions as the Hales. This wood is much like ebony and while it is slightly heavier than rosewood it looks and feels wonderful and is very solid. I use it on grands with a fairly long head and a short #2 tip. Michael also made me a wonderwand-type tuning lever, which is basically a tool-steel shaft with a tuning head on one end and a 2" wooden ball on the other. This has rapidly become my favourite hammer for verticals, as the light weight and excellent balance, coupled with the ball which comfortably fits the hand, makes vertical tuning MUCH less of a chore. They are also comparatively cheap since you can build them yourself or just have a machine shop pipe-thread a length of tool steel rod, have it nickle-plated so it won't rust, stick a pre-made maple ball from a hobby store on the end and use your own head and tip. My only objection is the rather high-tech appearance, but at least it has a rosewood ball. I use it strictly on verticals, but I'll put one in my "emergency kit" as they're inexpensive. I might add that I carry four heads (one rarely-used narrow-wall) which are between 10 and 15 degrees, and tip length varies from extremely short for most uprights to a fairly long head for grands. This is an interesting discussion which we have had on occasion on the #Pianotech IRC channel. I look forward to reading some other responses. John Musselwhite, RPT Calgary, Alberta Canada musselj@cadvision.com
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