Two hours is too long. Just have at it, especially with the first pass. Fifteen to twenty minutes max. The fine tuning shouldn't take more than an hour unless you've missed your mark considerably with the first pass. I haven't found that dragging pianos up over several tunings is any better than just cranking them up to pitch right from the start. If it's been a long time since the last tuning it's always better to just nudge the tension down just a touch to break away at friction points before pulling it up. Also a quicker pull will break fewer strings than a slow pull, though it might seem counterintuitive (as long as you don't jerk it grossly sharp). Bridges (and bridge pins) are not likely to crack, unless they are cracked already. I've never had a tuning pin snap off though with some Baldwin torque I've wondered. I do carry liability insurance (and you should too) though I don't know whether it will cover issues related to poor piano maintenance. I guess the worst disaster is probably the plate cracking. But even then, it's not something you should assume responsibility for. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Greg Livingston Sent: Friday, May 14, 2010 8:58 PM To: Pianotech list Subject: [pianotech] Catastrophic Events While Tuning... Dear Friends, I have often wondered about this. What terrible disasters can happen during a tuning? Today I pitch-raised a neglected Baldwin studio, and it creaked and groaned for the two hours it took me to wrestle it into stability. I was expecting unforseen disasters at every turn of the hammer. Have you ever had bridge pins snap or bridges crack, or (God forbid) a tuning pin snap off? What is the worst that has happened to you, and do you carry insurance to protect you? Once, at one of my first chapter meetings after I joined the PTG, a well-respected local tuner told me to crank all pianos up to 440 no matter how flat they are. Well, I do that to pianos of recent manufacture with unrusted strings, but for WW1 era sleds I drag them up gradually over several tunings. (It gives me a chance to use my 435 fork.) I guess it all depends on the situation. ___________________________________________________ Gregory P. Livingston, Piano Tuning and Service 781-237-9178 Piano Technicians Guild, associate member (Boston chapter) "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." We are constantly reminded of the first part, but somehow the second part gets overlooked. _____ Hotmail is redefining busy with tools for the New Busy. Get more from your inbox. See how. <http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON: WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_2> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100514/83ee7741/attachment.htm>
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