When thought is given to hammer technique, consideration must also be given to the various elements that taken separately, may not appear to be so very important; but a chain is made of many links and we all know the weakest one.
The tuning hammer, at first glance seems to be just a tuning hammer - but there are a variety available. The first consideration is its length. The average hammer is 10 to 11 inches long without a head. I have seen hammers as short as 6 inches and as long as 15 inches. The short hammer feeds back information more directly from the pin and has less length for flexing, but requires considerable strength and endurance to operate. The longer hammers provide more leverage but tend to flex, causing poor hand-to-pin communication, and the increased weight bends the tuning pin a little more than desired.
There have been several variations on the standard “professional” tuning hammer - the very heavy hammer turned from a piece of drive shafting which gives considerable weight to the matter, and the impact tuning hammer which has gained favour with some for pitch-raising. (These are experimental or special application tools and do not, on the average, apply for fine tuning.)
Having an extension hammer is not entirely necessary for extending t introduces so much flex that all mechanical advantage is voided through lost communication. Extension hammers tend to flex at the tightening ferrule and the shaft turns in the handle. The only advantage they have is that the handle can be removed for stringing or other special applications. The ideal hammer, then, is one that is about 10 inches long, lightweight, rigid, one-piece construction, and made of nice wood if possible.
I should be talking - the disreputable hammer I use is only 7-l/2inches long, but is extended to 11inches overall for tuning...
Read more at:
https://www.professionalpianotunerlondon.co.uk/post/hammer-technique
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