Stupid Question

[Richard Wagner]

Greg,

Re: your question...

>O.K. I'll admit to souding kind of nieve but "Why is it
>called a tuning hammer'? :>)

Some years ago, I was told by my main mentor that tuning pins in VERY old
pianos had a slight taper to them.  They were larger at the top and smaller
at the bottom.

If and when they became loose in the pinblock, they could be "hammered" in
a little and, because of their taper, they would then be tight again.

Also, the original tuning "hammer" looked more like the tool which we would
call a "T wrench" today.  

Try to imagine the "T wrench" being rotated 90 degrees and used to "Whomp"
a loose tuning pin deeper into the block and you'll have the picture.

I've seen an antique tuning hammer, and the "T" part of the handle had
round chunks of metal embedded into it at both ends for swinging heft.

To my mind, this supports the claim that these things were originally used,
not only to tune, but to make tuning more practical when the occasional
loose tuning pin reared its ugly head.

Richard Wagner RPT


BTW... I once had a high school Geometry teacher who assured us all that
there were no stupid questions.

I liked that sentiment.