tool quality

[J Patrick Draine]

On Wednesday, January 1, 2003, at 04:50  PM, Farrell wrote:

>  I likely bought mine from Schaff or APSCO. Is there a better quality 
> one available?

I've been misplacing miscellaneous tools lately, and sometimes ordering 
a replacement (at least until the old one reappears!) has seemed the 
way to go.
I've been rather disappointed by several recent purchases from Schaff. 
The balance rail easing end of the CF Tool has sharp edges that damage 
the balance rail felt (fortunately I found the one I bought from John 
Roll's son 20 years ago). The center pin nippers are most inadequate (I 
just got an excellent replacement from Pianotek). And the grand hammer 
extractor is nice & shiny with chrome but will require some grinding to 
make it useable.
Moral of the story: don't misplace your tools. Buy the best tools you 
can (Renner, Pianotek, or the various boutique tool specialists 
<Seasons Greetings Joe>), or plan on spending time customizing them 
until they're useable.

Patrick Draine