Tuning an old German upright

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jsesjm
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Tuning an old German upright

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I have a Schiedmayer and Soehne serial number 12049 which is at least a hundred years old and has small tuning pins. They taper from 6mm square at the wire hole to 5mm square at the tip. I can grip the pins with a standard #2 tip tuning hammer if I push it down to the wire but it is insecure and wobbly and I'm sure that I will strip pins if I use it. Would a #1 tuning tip fit or would I have to get a specialty #0? Thank you.
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Johnkie
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Re: Tuning an old German upright

Post by Johnkie »

I wouldn't persevere with trying to tune with a tuning lever that is a loose fit .... you'll end up rounding off the square and have real problems that will require replacement wrestpins. Not sure what country you're from or indeed whether you are a professional tuner, but the answer to this question is simple ..... get a smaller lever ( or head ) - I guess you're not from the UK, because our suppliers offer "Small, Medium & Large" rather than #0, #1,#2. Sadly my friend, there's only one way to go with this ..... get the right tool for the job.
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Colin Nicholson
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Re: Tuning an old German upright

Post by Colin Nicholson »

!!!??
Its a bit like saying you have a 13mm bolt to undo on a car, but you don't know what sized spanner or socket to use??
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MarkGoodwinPianos
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Re: Tuning an old German upright

Post by MarkGoodwinPianos »

Hi Jessie
Let us know how you get on
:)
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email markgoodwinpianos@gmail.com with any Yamaha, Kawai, Bechstein or Steinway questions :)
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Re: Tuning an old German upright

Post by Barrie Heaton »

jsesjm wrote:I have a Schiedmayer and Soehne serial number 12049 which is at least a hundred years old and has small tuning pins. They taper from 6mm square at the wire hole to 5mm square at the tip. I can grip the pins with a standard #2 tip tuning hammer if I push it down to the wire but it is insecure and wobbly and I'm sure that I will strip pins if I use it. Would a #1 tuning tip fit or would I have to get a specialty #0? Thank you.
The problem is you are asking about "tuning tips" which tend to be used in the USA not the UK We have small, medium and large star heads Now I would just say get a small P leaver but you probably don't have them over there.

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