[pianotech] Fancy German electric hammer shank pliers needs elements.

[John Ross]

Could the place you initially purchased it from, help?
If it was APSCO, ask Schaff, as they took everything.
They have stuff, that was insufficient to put in their catalogue, but have 
it for the asking, not meaning free.
Would the possibility exist, to rewind with resistance wire, the element?
John Ross
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Euphonious Thumpe" <lclgcnp at yahoo.com>
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2009 1:21 PM
Subject: [pianotech] Fancy German electric hammer shank pliers needs 
elements.



I got one of those $200 electric hammershank pliers ( when they were 
available ) and they worked gioriously until one of the elements burnt out 
( especially for twisting shanks, as the cauls themselves are straight ).
Anyone know where to get re-placement elements? All these things are,
I believe, are modified professional hair-curling irons, so elements SHOULD 
be available, but the letters on them ( itty bitty ) are in Gereman, and me 
no speke.

Euphonious Thumpe


--- On Sat, 2/28/09, Porritt, David <dporritt at mail.smu.edu> wrote:

> From: Porritt, David <dporritt at mail.smu.edu>
> Subject: Re: [pianotech] Tool for hammer burning
> To: "pianotech at ptg.org" <pianotech at ptg.org>
> Date: Saturday, February 28, 2009, 9:27 AM
> Andrew:
>
> I don't do any field work anymore so it's handy for
> me but I only use a heat gun for "burning" shanks.
>  That's one of the ironies of our nomenclature, in
> "burning" shanks you're actually not supposed
> to burn them!
>
> dp
>
>
> David M. Porritt, RPT
> dporritt at smu.edu
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org
> [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Andrew
> Cherry
> Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2009 12:50 AM
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Subject: [pianotech] Tool for hammer burning
>
> Hello-
>
> I'm a student at the Chicago School for Piano
> Technology, and this is
> my first time posting on the list (though I've been
> lurking for some
> time);  greetings to everyone!
>
> We recently covered burning hammer shanks in class, and
> after noticing
> how much carbon has to be cleaned off the shank due to the
> open flame,
> it occurred to me to try a tool I had at home.  It's
> the Weller
> Pyropen Jr. (WSTA6), which is a small portable
> butane-powered
> soldering iron that also comes with a hot air tip.
> It's the latter
> mode that I decided to try for hammer burning, since the
> hot air won't
> cause carbon deposits the way an open flame would. I
> figured that if
> it was hot enough to melt solder it might work for hammers
> (according
> to the spec sheet, it generates hot air at around 800
> degrees F).
> Paul Revenko-Jones and I tried it out tonight, and sure
> enough, it
> worked quite well!   Paul mentioned that he uses a heat gun
> for such
> things, but that it's more cumbersome to deal with, and
> the Pyropen is
> cordless and small enough to easily throw into a tool bag.
>  I got
> mine at a local Fry's for about $50 (note, you need to
> buy a can of
> butane as well, it doesn't come with fuel) so it's
> not as cheap as an
> aim-n-flame but not super expensive either.  Besides, I
> seem to
> remember some previous talk on the list about piano tuners
> rolling in
> doe, bucks, etc.  :-)
>
> It also works well for its primary purpose as a soldering
> iron (and
> heats up in less than a minute).  The only complaint I have
> about mine
> is that it's occasionally a bit reluctant to ignite,
> but I don't know
> if all of them are like that or just mine.
>
> Anyway, I thought I'd mention it in case anyone else
> might be
> interested, since it seems like a nifty use of the tool,
> and Paul
> seemed pretty excited about it.  :-)
>
> Here are some links.  Fry's seems to have the best
> price (like I said,
> I bought mine at a local store.. instant gratification!):
>
> http://www.cooperhandtools.com/onlinecatalog/literature/55702.pdf
> http://shop3.frys.com/product/2461450#detailed
>
> BTW, I have no affiliation with Weller, Fry's, etc;
> just happy to find
> that non-piano tools I already own come in handy for piano
> tech work.
>
> Take care...
>
> -Andrew