May Their Practice rooms be filled with 1098's

[David Ilvedson, RPT]

Richard,

I suggest a class for Reno.  If Richard is coming he can demonstrate on a
1098 and then we can listen to the results.  It will not be a pretty sight!

David I.

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Brekne <Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no>
To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Tuesday, December 05, 2000 9:43 AM
Subject: Re: May Their Practice rooms be filled with 1098's


>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
>
>
>