Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Optimal combination of a Fujan hammer

I'd like to invest in a Fujan hammer, but not sure about the perfect combination.

A Watanabe tip 2 seems to be unanimous.

Do I need an extension tip ? And what degree of tuning head ? I don't want to be caught in a situation whereby the configuration gets caught by a piano plate strut.

BTW, anyone prefers the straight handle to the Rosewood knob ?

The perfect combination is what is required for the piano that you are tuning and your technique.
It helps to have all tips and extensions available for your hammer.
I like tip angles of 5 or 7 degrees and I believe that the Fujan is not available for that.
My pear handled Jahn serves the function of a hammer with a knob when I need one - I have 4 different hammers.

Maybe 'best' is not the best word. Yes, I'd say 'optimal' where one hammer can fit as many pianos as possible, both grands and uprights.

I've tried a lot of configurations and here is what works best for me. I thought I wanted a 10 degree head because that is what my first Watanabe hammer head was but found that the 15 degree on the Fujan was better. I have the standard length tube, a four inch extension tube, a rosewood ball handle, two fifteen degree heads, two Watanabe #2 tips, one is slightly bigger than the other, and a 5/8" tip extension.

For tuning grands I use the standard tube with the four inch extension on it for a handle...without the rosewood ball. I don't like a ball handle for tuning grands. I just put a small amount of Xtreme Tape from Deluth Trading Co. on the end threads of the extension tube and it is the perfect length handle (13" total hammer length). I use the head and tip with the 5/8" tip extension on grands for easily clearing plate struts.

For verticals I use the standard tube with the rosewood ball handle (11" total length) and without the four inch extension tube....unless the tuning pins are very tight. The 4" extension tube serves a duel purpose this way. It is usually used as the handle on my grand configuration but is also available when I need it for very tight tuning pins on verticals. I usually don't use the 5/8" tip extension for verticals unless there is a clearance problem.

You use a 15 degree angle head on verticals as well ?

BTW, why is an extension 'tube' necessary ? Wouldn't the extension tube defeats the purpose of a Fujan hammer with the likelihood of more flex ?

Yes, I use the 15 degree head exclusively.

The extension tube just allows me to get the length I want for leverage. The carbon fiber tubes are so stiff that you can make the hammer as long as you want and not have any flex.

The total length of my vertical configuration is 11". The total length of my grand configuration is 13". If I have really tight pins on a vertical I can make it 15" long with no flex.

You want your tip to fit close to the coil without actually touching. I find a #3 tip to be most useful; however some pianos call for a #2, where yet a few others need a #1. As was stated previously, "It helps to have all tips and extensions available for your hammer."

I subscribe to the notion that the shorter the length the better.
Much more 'feel' and much easier to 'set' the pin.
I like the 15 degree angle....
Like in so many things, it's not the tool, it's how you use it!
I just can't understand how a long shaft is any help at all, unless you're tuning very tight pins and your technique is, well, let us say, lacking.
Uprights are easier with a slightly longer shaft, but control is the answer.

When I say tight pins I mean very very tight. Like Baldwin of the 70's tight. Or new Asian piano's in the middle of the humid summer tight. That is the only time I use an extension for leverage...and only on verticals. I use the four inch extension tube on grands so that I can have a handle that is straight without a ball...not to make it really long.

11-13 inches for a handle is not considered very long. It is quite normal.

For one hammer that fits most situations I like my Watanabe with the #2 tip at 7 degrees.
The #2 tip size will vary with the make - the Jahn is slightly different than the Hale or the Fletcher Neumann.
I like my Fletcher Neumann for very loose pins because it is such a light hammer. The Jahn is also light but it just does not work so well on loose pins.
I have used a Fujan with the long handle and it takes a bit of getting to know it. The added leverage is great for tight gummy pins. Tuning a tall upright with a long handle is a bit uncomfortable.
Sometimes I like to try the Jim Coleman style on uprights - 3 oclock and a tap - the short handle 7 degree works very well for this technique.
Sometimes I like to use the Antonio Bombal technique for the high treble with tight gummy pins - Hale hammer at 7 degrees with about 8 inches of tip extension.
I have been taught to be ready for any situation so all tips and extensions for all of my hammers are always there.

I like the Piano World forums because I am open minded. I like to read about many points of view and occasionally share mine.

I don't believe that because someone may use a different tool than I do or do something in a different way than I that "their technique, is, well, let's just say, lacking".

Different strokes for different folks.

I have the #2 tip with a 15% extension tip and the standard 11" tube with the rosewood ball. It works just fine for anything that I have run into. I have my old rosewood handle tuning lever with an extra short tip that I use on grands that have the last pin for A0 under the music rack brackets. The Fujan extension tip won't fit under that. Every time I pick up my old rosewood tuning lever I think "wow, I can't believe I used this for 28 years".

I hear ya. The last time I picked up my old Watanabe hammer and tried it...it felt like a lead hot dog.

That's it exactly, it feels like a lead weight.

I plan to get a 13-inch tube with straight handle, a 10-degree head with a 5/8 inch extension tip, plus a watanabe #2 tip.

Does anyone think it's necessary to get an extension tube ?

I've given up extension levers. My Jahn pear-handled non-extension lever with #2 tip is the only tuning lever I use. I love it for tuning all pianos.

Extension levers have too much flex (when extended) and too much weight ... don't want 'em, don't need 'em, don't miss 'em.

I bought both the 11 and 13 inch tubes to start with, with the right to return 1 within 30 days. I could not get used to the longer tube, and settled on the standard 11 inch with a rosewood end. I found the longer handle hit the lid props and such in the treble of grands.

Note that I tune verticals with the lever in my left hand, aiming for the lever to be at the 10 oclock position, and on grands I use the lever in my right hand, at the 2 o'clock position.

I didn't care for the "tennis ball" shape of the knob, so I sanded it down to different shape. Smaller diameter and more of a pear shape.

I prefer the shortest possible head/tip combo, so I chose 15* head with #2 tip. The Watanabe tips run a little larger than the Schaff tips. I used a #3 Schaff tip previously, and the Watanabe #2 fits like a Schaff 2 1/2 might fit.

I believe the key to the Fujan lever stiffness is the head, more so than the carbon tube, and I suspect the longer tips may introduce some flex. I am probably wrong about this:).

I have all sorts of long tips and such for the older Schaff lever if I need them, but that is very rare.

Without an extension tip - yes, tip, not tube - would the lever be able to clear the grand piano plate struts ?

With a 15 degree head AND the 5/8 extension you can clear all of the plate struts. With the 15 degree head w/o the tip extension you can clear some of them but not all. The hammer will leave your hand and take flight if you catch a strut unexpectedly without enough clearance. If you're going to use a 10 degree head you will certainly need the tip extension for plate strut clearance.