Stable Floor tunings?

[Joe & Penny Goss]

Terry,Take care to note how you are using the hammer. relax as much as
possible and use a hammer that will give the most leverage so that your body
has to workwith less strain. Check http://www.primenet.com/~imatunr/

Joe Goss
----- Original Message -----
From: Charly Tuner <charly_tuner@hotmail.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 05, 2000 10:16 AM
Subject: Re: Stable Floor tunings?


> Bob,
>
> Very interesting information...which is why I love this list! Btw, After
> only 3 weeks on the job as a floor tuner, and having tuned 4-5 pianos a
day
> (I guess that's a lot of pin turning for a newbie!), my tuning hand,
> specifically my fingers and thumb joint is very noticably stiff and
painful
> in the morning and late at night...feels like arthritis..and I'm still a
> young man! Wonder if this could just be a result of having NEVER done this
> before, and I may be over-doing it a bit, too much too soon, right out of
> the gate. Anyway, I guess this is part of the game. I am going to start a
> strength training program where i work out...concentrating on neck, back
and
> upper body. In the mean time I think I'll take this opportubity to take a
> couple aspirin and soak my hand in some epson salts! Ariverduchee
>
> Terry
>
>
> >From: Bdshull@AOL.COM
> >Reply-To: pianotech@ptg.org
> >To: pianotech@ptg.org
> >Subject: Re: Stable Floor tunings?
> >Date: Sun, 5 Mar 2000 04:24:16 EST
> >
> >Hi, Terry:
> >
> >I "cut my teeth" doing floor work for a Baldwin dealer from 1980 to 1985.
> >Incredibly tight pins in some of the grands, which meant eventually I
could
> >just about tune anything.  I learned to go through a piano twice as
quickly
> >as possible, with moderate hard blows the last time through but not
wasting
> >time on perfection, focusing on unisons.  Two passes will usually get the
> >best results, following standard pitch raise/lowering formula.  You
should
> >push yourself to get your time down to 30-40 minutes total for both
passes.
> >I always strip muted the entire piano - saves at least 10 minutes.
> >
> >And Richard is right about humidity.  Several articles can be found in
the
> >Journal about this, and the pianotech archives are full of this subject.
> >In
> >southern California we experience wide extremes of humidity and not as
> >great
> >a variance in temperature as the rest of the country.  You can tune a
piano
> >after a week of rain, but a day or two after a dry high pressure system
has
> >begun, and a day or two later it will drop 10-20 cents.   Just because of
> >the
> >abrupt drop in RH.   Mild fluctuations  in RH will also move the tenor up
> >and
> >down and make you look bad.
> >
> >Don't worry much about the heater being turned down at night in LA;  the
> >big
> >problem is the big change in air moisture content, and that is
exacerbated
> >by
> >the fact that most of the pianos you are tuning are new, so the SB's are
at
> >their most dimensionally unstable.  But if you are willing to learn, you
> >will
> >quickly develop tuning skills and speed.  Just listen to your body at the
> >first sign of tendonitis etc., and back off and rest for a while when you
> >need to.  You can build tuning endurance and stamina - It sounds like you
> >already are!
> >
> >My feeling about pounding (relating to Richard's response) is that for
> >floor
> >work a single, moderately hard blow is all you should give after a firm
> >movement/set of the tuning pin.  However, that is no insurance of a
> >rock-solid tuning, just a servicable floor tuning.  What is the point of
> >repeated pounding when the piano is so unstable anyway?  However, I have
> >always used repeated blows in C&A work, and played the piano hard
> >afterwards
> >if there was time, fixing errant unisons as they popped up.  I think the
> >best
> >training for C&A is the dealer work, where you develop speed and
> >confidence.
> >
> >Bill Shull
> >
> >In a message dated 00-03-04 19:00:12 EST, you write:
> >
> ><< Once again, the sun streaming in, sometimes directly on sound boards,
> >and
> >no
> >  heat at night can't help the painos stay in tune. But I do my best
given
> >all
> >  the conditions, and they seem to sound nearly as good from day to day,
> >when
> >  i check them randomly. Every so often I'll find that a piano I tuned
2-3
> >  weeks earlier has dropped a tad in the high treble, or a unison or 2
has
> >  slipped, in which case I'll do a quick touch-up.
> >
> >  Terry >>
>
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