May Their Practice rooms be filled with 1098's

[Richard Brekne]

Hi Newton... used to tune a lot of these at Sherman Clay... none of the
other techs wanted to... so I got them all to myself.. Been reading the
various posts and the techniques attempted with interest. Ron's comes
closest to what I do.

I have my hammer at 12-2:00 position on almost every piano. On tight pinned
pianos I start by getting the string to move on the bearing points..
without turning the pin in the pinblock much,,,, if at all,, by releasing
tension on the string. A quick hard push counter clockwise making sure the
pin is twisting as much as possible and not flagpoling more then
neccessary. (I am a right handed tuner). Sometimes its neccessary to pull
up on the tension in the same fashion and then quickly down in order to get
the string moving. The actual turning of the pin is sorta like what Ron
describes.. but I am always past 12 oclock. I sorta push in on the top of
the hammer, while at the same time pulling away from the pin while at the
same time maintaining a screwing motion on the pin. If I have to go back
and forth.. droping the pitch a good deal.... in order to get the pin
moving like I want it... then I do so but I normally dont have to. I like
to watch the butt end of my tuning hammer as sort of an extension of the
pin, the better I can keep that horizontal with the pin, the better. If I
have to allow for flagpoling... its always sideways.. I dont allow the butt
of the hammer to pull down on the pin. With the pin moving smoothly I pull
up just above the pitch I want and gently release my pull on the hammer,
then try and lightly spring the pin backwards while hitting the key with a
firm, but not hard, blow. If it goes down to where I want it easily enough,
but not tooooo easily.. then I leave it and check it again later.

Interesting point to this.. I find that if I simply release the tension on
the pin after I pull up, and do not try and spring it backwards.. the pitch
of that string invariably rises a bit after a few seconds. This is the
key.. If you have a hammer technique that tends towards pitch drop ( as
most techs do me thinks) after you are done with the pin... then experiment
with this until you have the opposite problem... grin.. then find the happy
medium.

Tuning 1098's then is just a matter of finding that happy medium for this
type of piano... once you have it... well then you have it.... if you get
my meaning.

Newton Hunt wrote:

> > I dont know about all this 1098 problem stuff...
>
> The next time you come over here find one and tune it, then
> tell us how you did.
>
> You just have not lived until you have tried to tune an
> American S&S 1098.
>
> Bring your valium, Richard.
>
>                 Newton

--
Richard Brekne
RPT, N.P.T.F.
Bergen, Norway