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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
OUT-TECHNICAL DETRIMENT
CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM BRAID WHITE
THE TUlWS TOOLS.
Every so often I find myself, for some mys-
terious reason, inspired to talk about tools. How
many times a heading substantially similar to the
above has graced (so to speak) the columns of the
Technical Department I do not pretend to know;
but it is plain that the topic is fascinating, for it
fascinates me. And if what fascinates me does not
fascinate the intelligent reader, then let said reader
rise up in meeting and depose to that effect.
Seriously, what are more important than a man's
tools? What single topic is there on which a man
can put thought more exigent than this? The
tools one uses not only determine the quality of
one's work; they also quite as plainly and correctly
exhibit the quality of one's mind. The man who is
in love with his work is, therefore, and for that
special reason, in love with all that pertains thereto,
with the manner in which his work is done and
with the tools which he uses to do it. In any case
it is perfectly plain that, whereas the incompetent
worker is not made less incompetent by the mere
fact of possessing a fine kit of tools, the good
worker is, per contra, quite unable to do good
work without such a kit. You may not be able to
do good work just because you have good tools,
but you certainly cannot do justice to your own
mechanical and artistic ability with bad ones. That
is so plain that the mere statement of the case is
enough to carry conviction.
Now it happens that, for no other reason than
that they believe in me, earnest young men who
pursue the art of piano tuning from time to time
indite letters of inquiry to this department on the
general subject of tools. Sometimes they merely
want to know about the use or value of some par-
ticular tooj; sometimes they want whole lists of
tools. In the latter case I usually prepare elaborate
lists of things that one ought to have, and then
forget the second or third most important item,
having to write a special paragraph about it the
following week with an apology for forgctfulness.
At other times I write about tuning hammers and
wedges, or about combination screw-drivers and
felt needles. This week, for reasons which may
or may not be important, I propose to return to
the tuning hammer and say something about it,
with incidental excursions on the side into the
fealm of felt needles and tuning wedges. The
topics do not appear to be excessively important,
yet they are quite pertinent, at all events.
I have noticed very often that tuners who have
not had the opportunity to gain factory experience
or who have not been well grounded in a first-
class school are rather inclined to be careless in
the choice of a tuning hammer. Yet, in point of
fact, of no other tuner's tool can one rightly allege
greater importance or further-reaching influence
upon the character of the work done through its
medium. The tuning hammer, in short, may make
good work impossible quite as much as it may
promote its possibility. With a bad tuning ham-
mer, unfitted to the hand of the operator and
badly constructed in any way, the work of turning
the pins and stretching the wire is rendered slip-
shod, uncertain and defective. There is no use in
stressing the argument. The combined experience
of all good tuners points to the immediate and
first importance of selecting the best tuning ham-
mer one can get. My special purpose now shall be
to make what I think are pertinent suggestions as
to judging this tool, discovering just what one
needs for one's own particular purposes and, finally,
making the proper selection.
It is, of course, plain that any difficulty one
might have in this respect will disappear when one
knows quite thoroughly the exact uses to which
the tuning hammer is to be put. It is quite correct
to say that the right hammer for me is one that
fits my hand and is comfortable for my wrist, that
is just the right weight and just the right length.
But how am I to explain to anybody else how
these qualities, which no doubt I myself completely
understand, are to be recognized and judged.
Clearly, we must first examine and set forth the
exact requirements of the tuning hammer. To put
the matter in a few words, the duty of this hammer
is to turn the tuning pins of pianos so as to tighten
or loosen steel wire strings which may be any-
where from two to seventy-two inches long and be
stretched to tensions varying from 135 to 250
pounds. The tuning pin itself is a shaft of steel
about one-quarter inch in diameter and from two
and one-half to three indies long. This pin is im-
bedded in an elaborate built-up wooden plank, so
constructed as to afford the greatest possible fric-
tional resistance to the slippage of a pin inserted
in a suitable hole bored within the plank. Between
the friction-making resistance of the plank and the
thread cut in the periphery of the pin one has a
condition of affairs in which it may be said that
the pulling force of the stretched string will not
be sufficient to move the pin, once it is driven into
place, and that when the pin has been turned it will
stay in the new position without slippage.
It is perfectly plain that the natural requirement
is for a wrench or similar tool of very consider-
able leverage power; that is to say, in which the
relation of the handle to the head shall be very
wide. On the other hand, it is also plain that the
longer the handle the wider must be the swing at
the outer end thereof i proportion to any given
movement of the head. There is therefore a defi-
nite limit to the possible relative length of handle
and head, especially with regard to the many cases
in which it is impossible to maintain a really ver-
tical position. If the inclination of the tuner is to
slope his hammer away from the vertical and to
the side of the pin remote from the coil, then he
v.ill surely tend to bend his pins. If, then, the
handle is very long, this vicious tendency will sim-
ply be accentuated. It is thus easy to see that for
every reason of safety it is wrong for the tuner to
rsc an extremely long handle. In saying this I do
not mind saying definitely that I believe twelve
inches to be quite long enough for any tuning
hammer handle, and that the practice of pulling
out the extension rod and thus lengthening the
handle still further is by no means to be com-
mended on any score whatever. In fact, I think it
would be very well if, now that the old square pi-
ano has passed, the extension handle were alto-
gether abolished.
The length of the head is a matter of almost
equal importance. Personally, I am in favor of
getting as close to the work as one can, and the
long head tends to frustrate this design. More-
over, it is of course quite plain that the longer the
head the greater the tendency to waste force in
pulling down instead of in turning. On the other
hand, it is equally the fact that some pianos arc
made with overhanging tops, which often cannot be
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removed for various reasons, and in such cases
as these it is absolutely necessary to be provided
with a head long enough. For many years I have
used alternately two sets of tuning hammer out-
fits. One is made by Hammacher, Schlemmer & Co.
and the other by the Tuners' Supply Co. The
first is of the well-known Erlandsen type and com-
prises extension twelve-inch handle, long and short
star heads, double square head and double oblong
head. The latter, of course, is scarcely ever used
nowadays. The other set is the equally well-known
Hale and comprises extension handle of about the
same length, with long and short star heads, double
square and double oblong heads, all provided with
detachable tips so as to fit closely pins of various
diameters. Both of these I have used, on and off,
for more than ten years, and, in fact, the first one
was the first I ever bought, having a record by
now of something like fifteen years of usefulness.
Now, I have found that the variable size head is
extremely useful for general tuning when one is
likely to find pianos with extra small or extra large
pins. A head too loose on a pin is just as mechan-
ically bad for the tuner as one that is too small to
go all the way on to the pin. For some years now,
however, I have not done very much outside tuning
and really am hardly in a position to say whether
the need for tips of various diameters is as press-
ing as it used to be. One thing, however; is cer-
tain, and that is that when one uses the detach-
able tips one can replace ;i worn star without hav-
ing to buy an entire new head. That alone is a
blessing. It seems to me that I once saw a hammer
in Hammacher & Schlemmcr's place in New York
with a sliding head which could be made longer or
shorter as required; but I never tried this.
An outfit of this sort should always include a
double square head, and perhaps also a double
oblong, too, for the square pianos that still exist.
The double square head has its own special advan-
tages, for it is very useful in handling pins with
worn edges where a careless tuner has allowed his
star head to chip away the square edges of the
tuning pin's head. The oblong pins went out with
the square piano, but there are still quite a few
such pianos left, and it is not safe for a tuner in
general practice to travel without a head which will
fit them.
During the last •fifteen years I have experimented
more or less with hammers both heavy and light,
and have found that apparently it is almost entirely
a matter of personal taste whether one uses a very
heavy, moderately heavy, light or very light ham-
mer. Of course, weight means power in a sense,
especially in easing up on a pin which is just com-
ing into position; but on the other hand, weight
also must be the more carefully controlled. Per-
sonally, I incline to a moderate weight.
One cannot take too much care or spend too
much money on a tuning hammer. One should not
try to spend less than ten dollars for a handle and
star heads alone, or less than fifteen dollars for a
complete outfit. It pays to get the best.
I see that I have wandered along in this way
until my space allowance is used up. I had in-
tended to talk in this same article about wedges
and needles and all sorts of things ; but, alas for
good intentions!
Anyhow, the remainder of this composition will
have to lie written for next week, till when, as a
friend of mine says, "An reservoir!"
Communications for this department should be
addressed to William Braid White, care The Music
Trade Review, 37.1 Fourth avenue, New York City.
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