"Hammer Technique"; ddf Q

[Tom Cole]

Ken,

I know what you're saying about dropping the pitch first to break rust
and static friction, to kind of burnish the bearing points, in which
case lubrication is probably not necessary or even effective. What I was
mostly referring to, though, was the rather large area of contact where
the strings lay over the understring felt in the tenor section of a
grand piano. This is where friction can increase due to rust or grit
getting between the strings and the felt, as when someone spills a drink
and saturates the felt. Moving the strings doesn't clear the problem.
Are you saying that using the Smooth Pull technique handles this ?

In view of the above, I think that using felt to create friction is a
bad idea and steel or cast iron bearing surfaces are better. Del, is
this why you're not in favor of felt in contact with strings?

Ken Burton wrote:
> 
>     Tom,
> 
>     Actually, I am a beginner as far as the Smooth Pull technique is
> concerned. However, I have found that moving the pin counter-clockwise
> before beginning to pull smoothly in the clockwise direction is a must. It
> is not only to break the rust, etc., but to get the pin and string ready for
> the Smooth Pull. It has worked well for me on several occasions and some
> Master Tuners in this area use it almost exclusively.
>     My feeling about lubricants is that they don't help much. With the
> "jerk" technique, any rust, etc. is broken through easily. I seldom break
> strings.
> 

-- 
Thomas A. Cole RPT
Santa Cruz, CA