"Hammer Technique"

[Kenneth W. Burton]

	Tom,

	Please pardon me if I am trying to tell you something you already
know. I have found pianos that were virtually untunable using the "jerk"
method (my usual approach.) I found that I had to change to The Smooth
Pull technique and then the unisons began to settle right in.

	Ken Burton "Doctor Piano" Calgary Alberta

On Tue, 10 Nov 1998, Tom Cole wrote:

> 
> Paul McCloud wrote:
> > 
> > The friction of the
> > string over the bearing points also helps keep the string stable, but if
> > the friction  is too much, the string pitch won't follow the tuning
> > pin.
> 
> This is a situation that presented itself to me today and I'd like to
> offer a solution. A Yamaha grand that had too much tuning pin segment
> friction in the upper tenor: you nudge it sharp once, twice, thrice...
> the tuning doesn't change and then suddenly you're too sharp. Bring it
> down and the same overshoot happens. If you do finally get the string in
> tune, it won't hold because the pin and string are not properly settled. 
> 
> The trick, which I learned on this list, is to lubricate the bearing
> points, especially if there's significant contact with the understring
> felt. I used Protek Prolube which worked perfectly, for now (time will
> tell - I'll be checking on it periodically). If anyone has other ideas
> for lubes, I'd be glad to hear about them.
> 
> Tom
> 
> -- 
> Thomas A. Cole RPT
> Santa Cruz, CA
> 
>