Tuning Stamina

[Gordon Holley]

Marty, will you tell us a little more about the "impact hammer" you talk 
about here.  It sounds as thought it might be interesting.  Regards, Gordon 
Holley, Goshen, Indiana.

-----Original Message-----
From:	marty reyburn [SMTP:marty@reyburn.com]
Sent:	Thursday, April 19, 2001 9:55 PM
To:	pianotech@ptg.org
Subject:	Re: Tuning Stamina

 << File: ATT00110.htm >> Hello ;)

I have had chronic shoulder pain from x-ray diagnosed bone spurs in my
shoulder bones.  The doctor gave me cortisone shots and didn't offer much
hope of full recovery *sigh*.  Not a fun prognosis considering I play the
violin and I USE my shoulders constantly.

And now I'm tuning pianos, too... more stress... so when Dean started
teaching me hammer technique, he put a well-designed impact hammer in my
hand.  Makes a very big difference in my fatigue level and there is also
the side benefit of not twisting the tuning pins!  I don't have the sheer
muscle mass you guys have, so I was thankful for Dean's thoughtfulness in
providing me with such a great tool.  I also have a double-headed one for
grand tuning, but a regular ball-ended hammer works just as well most of
the time.

This idea might sound sortof like a no-brainer, but I've begun a program of 
weight training to build up strength in my upper back and shoulders.  I'm
amazed at how much improvement's been made in just a couple weeks of
lifting.  And no, I don't plan on bulking up... I just want to be able to
heft my toolcase without making a side trip to the chiropractor!

Someday I'd like to tune more than three pianos a day, but I still have my
full-time job of MOM and I need to be home by the time school's out :)

Be well

Marty Reyburn