Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Dan Levitan's Lever

Not sure what you mean Tooner...are you talking about a box or closed end wrench with an offset on the head such as this?...

If you had the clearance for the handle, a wrench like in the image can be flipped so the forces are applied lower, along the area where the bolts threads sit.

Emmery:

Box end is the same thing as a closed end, as far as I know. You have the right idea about flipping the offset around, but a combo wrench (one end box, one end open) has a simple angle instead of an offset.

Okay, I know what you mean by the angle now. Wasn't sure what you meant at first.

the lever is still acting differently, in my view because of the tip and the part above it, it may lighten the pressure on the bed of the pin so the bottom is worked sooner

Beethoven,
The price is $149.95 plus shipping.


I stand corrected: it is much more than that. Sorry.

You want the C-shaped lever, right? $149.95 isn't even close. I'll send you a PM....

It's my understanding that the lever is much more than $150.00

I don't see how the C-Shaped lever offers greater advantage than working any normal hammer through the plane of the tuning pin turn. The presentation's assumption that the L-lever always creates a downward or upward movement against the tuning pin turning plane is not true. Especially for techs who use ball grips. From what observe on the video, The applied pressure from under the end of the lever handle tilted the hammer tip against the angle of the tuning pin. I don't know if this is an advantage or a disadvantage.

I would like to try one out. The discussion hasn't reached the topic of the possible ergonomic advantages the C-shaped lever may offer. Anyone have experience with this Lever????

A client of mine emailed me that there were some posts on PianoWorld about my C hammer, and after reading the very interesting discussion, I thought I'd take the liberty of chiming in.

When I started working on the tool, I was interested in seeing how a tool would work whose handle was in the plane of the pin block. I started with a few wooden prototypes, very flexible, so I could more easily see how the tool reacted to the application of force to the handle. The post by Tunewerk is insightful, and in my view absolutely correct: pushing or pulling on the handle in the plane of the pin block did indeed torque the long, horizontal (on a grand) shank. However, as best as I could tell, the resulting force at the tip was perfectly rotational.

However, I've seen many tools come and go that had a great theory behind them, but for some reason didn't work well. Once I started having metal prototypes made, the torsion didn't show as clearly in the tool itself. But using the tool, it seemed to me that I really could, for the first time in my tuning career, turn or twist the pin without bending it, judging from the effect of my movements on the speaking length.

Many prototypes later, I had a tool of 1 1/4" tubing with a 0.020" wall (thinner and lighter than the Pianotek model). The stiffness of this tool, fully welded, with no threaded joints, seemed to be key. As I grew used to the tool, I found that I was having much better control, tuning more stably and more rapidly. It seemed to me that the greater control came from being able to separate--if not completely, certainly to a very great extent--the turning and tilting forces on the pin. But that mattered less to me than the fact that, for whatever reason, my work was better. Interestingly, I found that there were many pianos that, try as I might, I couldn't tune stably without tilting (or "flagpoling") the pin. The looser the pin in the block, and the higher in the treble, the more I seem to need to tilt the pin.

By the way, I have worked side by side with excellent tuners who tune almost exclusively by tilting the pin. With the tool in line with the string, pointing towards the hitch pin, they move the handle up and down in the vertical plane. These tend to be tuners working in concert halls. Those pianos are very well in tune to begin with, meaning their pins are in more or less the ideal rotational position, so I surmise that these tuners are reluctant to turn the pins and possibly destabilize the tuning.

To me, the approach makes sense in that context, but makes no sense in the context of most tuning work. In any case, any time we use a conventional we tilt the pin; as far as I can tell, for every two pounds of force turning the pin, one pound is tilting it. To me this all confirms the posts that offer the opinion that piano design has evolved to accommodate tilting of the pin while tuning. In fact, in my present view it is a feature of pin block design that helps to make fine tuning possible.

Since I was so pleased with the tool, I approached Pianotek about manufacturing it. No matter how much I liked the tool, I was curious to see if it would work for others as well. Yes, Pianotek sells only to technicians who have registered with them, and I'm sorry if that is an obstacle to those who aren't in their files. But I have been very much involved with the process, and I think they've done a great job, in both producing a well-made tool and in offering it at a reasonable price. They sell the hammer for $300, which is an order of magnitude less that what my last two prototypes cost me, and significantly lower than many other premium tuning levers. As the name of the tool suggests, I envisioned the market for it to be pretty much limited to professionals interested in doing very high level work. It turns out, though, that a number of tuners who have developed severe shoulder pain from the stress of tuning have been able to work again without pain using the tool, and that is very gratifying.

The video was intended not to demonstrate tuning technique, but to demonstrate how I put the tool on the piano, sit, etc., for first-time users. I assure you, if you've never tuned for a room full of tuners, you don't know what stress is! And making a video that lots more tuners can rewind and watch in slow motion...yikes!

Anyway, I hope this answers a few questions. I greatly appreciate all the interesting input and feedback.

Dan:

Welcome Aboard! I hope you don't regret it.

Being both a Piano Technician and a Doctor of Physical Therapy, I would like to weigh in. Based on this thread, I placed an order for the Levitan lever with Pianotek and received it last month. Prior to receiving this lever I had been using my Fujan hammer for about four years. After tuning numerous different brands/sizes of grand pianos with the Levitan lever over this past month I can truthfully say that it takes pin control and ergonomics to a new level. It makes it extremely easy to finesse the pin in both rotational and horizontal planes, while allowing the technician to remain in a functional neutral posture that places no strain/wear and tear on any of the upper extremity joints, as tends to occur when using traditional tuning devices. Based on my own experience with this lever over the past month, I can unequivocally, and enthusiastically, endorse it.

Thanks for the witnessing CC2 and also for your presentation, Dan.

Yes for the body that sound like a good answer, assuming one have to tune a large amount of pianos each day.

What is the weight of the lever ?

Hi Dan, all~
I just ordered the C Lever. I tore the labrum and bicep tendon in my right shoulder in February of this year, developed bilateral cubital and carpal tunnel prior to that. Neither is a result from tuning pianos, but they have prevented me from all tunings, including sitting at a keyboard/typing, playing the piano, among other things, etc. Thank goodness for dictation software - it's been a lifesaver!

Prior to all this medical drama, I started using Joe Goss', Mother Goose - plateau, ball lever on Bill Bremmer's recommendation to better utilize the tap method for many tunings along with Issac's techniques - they've worked great as both predicted, but at this point, it's still not possible utilizing either at this point.

As I have gotten stronger and continue to manage the symptoms under the proper care of an OccupationaI Therapist, a PT, an Acupuncturist, a DO, and a Neurologist, I look forward to giving the C Lever a solid test-drive once it's delivered and I am more fully able to get back to turning pins, taking care of clients, and furthering my education in piano care. I have a 1931 Story and Clark Petite Grand learning piano waiting in my garage to continue reworking, etc.

Glen