Sounds like a nice tuning hammer! I love good woods too, especially cocobola and bacote. I've tried stainless steel, and found it flexed too much, of course there are many types/ alloys of stainless, some are harder and stiffer I'm sure. Stainless also does polish nicley and doesn't tarnish or corode easilly. I prefer the 'stress proof' and nickle plate it. Mike Swendsen RPT http://members.home.net/spianos -----Original Message----- From: Charles E Faulk <cfaulk2@juno.com> To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org> Date: February 19, 1999 12:43 PM Subject: Re: Wonderwand >About two years ago I started making my own tuning hammers just for fun. >It fit rather nicely with my woodturning fetish. Well the long and the >short of it is I've made about nine hammers since then gradually refining >the length and shape to my liking. Since I have no ambitions to patent my >design I would rather share some dimensions with all of you. > >I start with a 10 1/2 " length of stainless steel rod (1/2" diam.) which >is turned down to 3/8" on one end and threaded to fit Schaff tuning heads >(27threads per inch). The threaded tip has a tapered end so that the head >will fit tightly. > >My handles are turned out of exotic woods like cocobolo, ebony, bocote, >and most recently rosewood. I like to start with a turning square 12" x 1 >7/8" x 1 7/8". Then I bore a 1/2" hole using a extra long brad point bit >through the core of the square, usually about 7 1/2"; this is best done >with a good horizontal drill press. I'll plug the bored end with a short >piece of 1/2" dowel, and fit my lathe drive center to this end. > >The best design I've come up with so far is a kind of double-ball handle >with about 4 1/2" of the steel rod extending from the handle. The end >ball looks like a slightly flattened tennis ball, not fully round; that >shape fits my hand better. The second and smaller ball is located about >half-way on the wood handle. It serves as a secondary handle if I choose >to "clutch-up" for any reason. Holding the hammer in this secondary >position, I can almost use the tool like an impact hammer. The entire >hammer is 13 1/2" long; this may be rather long for most tuners, but it >works well for me. > >Just some thoughts. > >Regard, > >Charles Faulk, RPT >Manhattan, KS >___________________________________________________________________ >You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. >Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html >or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] >
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