Why a CarbonTube Tuning Lever?

Click on the following topics to find out why you can't go wrong with a CarbonTube piano tuning lever:

Testimonials for the CarbonTube

John L. Pedigo, Pedigo Piano Inc., Since 1964

"Dear Steve:  After talking to you by phone, I felt confident in ordering your tuning lever after struggling with the cost.  I have had the opportunity to use it on some grands and verticals.  There are no exaggerations in any of your claims or testimonials of others. I have been in the piano business since 1964 and have tuned my share of pianos.  The ability to feel the pin and not overturn the pin has shortened the time needed to tune.  The tuning lever is the finest I have ever used.  Good product... No... Excellent product.   Thanks Steve, for making my job easier and more enjoyable."

Steven Snyder

"Thought you might enjoy the attached article from the local paper last January right after I bought your tuning lever.  Your tuning lever is featured.   Having used it ever since, I want to congratulate you on a fine design and high quality manufacturing job!   This lever does what you say it does and more.  I have had a chance to follow up my tunings with your lever and have found them much more stable than with any other tuning lever.  I can feel the pin like I have never been able to do in the past—and I have been tuning for 40 years!   Most important, tuning with your lever is so much easier!  My arm is significantly less tired after a tuning with your lever.  I can do more verticals with less stress on my arm joints, can do better work overall, and have a longer tuning career.   Your concept is truly revolutionary.  You have done a great service for the piano service industry."

Michael Musial, RPT

"Hi Steve.  I am enjoying your hammer a lot!!  I recently got a new digital camera and had a little free time so I made a web page regarding my observations of the use of your hammer in my daily work.  I thought you might find it of some interest.  http://thundermush.com/fujan/"

Loren DiGiorgi

"Wow, Steve, that's all I can say, seriously! I never dreamed the very basic tuning lever that we use daily could make such a dramatic difference in comfort, control, and accuracy. 99% of the time now, I can set the pin on the first try; no overshooting. It's that easy to control the pin in absolutely precise increments. With the lever being so rigid, there is no guesswork as to where the pin is in the block. I never realized how much of what we feel in terms of twist was actually the lever flexing until I started tuning with one that didn't flex. Great tool, Steve, and I look forward to using it for many years to come!"

Dirk Oosterhoff

"Hello Steve.  Saturday my tuning lever came with the mail.  Today I tuned several piano's and it is an absolute delight and joy to work with your carbon tuning lever.  It is beautiful made and it handles very nice. Well done!!"

Keith Frazier, RPT

"I finally purchased one of your tuning levers after waiting about a year & a half from the time I first saw the article in the PTG Journal.  I decided that I had nothing to lose with the 30 day money back guarantee. From the very first moment that I began tuning with this hammer I knew immediately that this was a quality tuning hammer.  In fact, this is the best tuning hammer I've ever seen & pretty much makes the 4 other tuning hammers I own obsolete.  The control & the leverage with this tuning lever is amazing.  After being in the piano business over 30 yrs, this is one of the most significant developments in technician tools that I've seen. The Fujan tuning lever gets the job done.  Thank you for your contribution to this industry & for making my life easier."

Michael Lamkin, RPT

"Just wanted to say how much I am enjoying using your carbon fiber tuning hammer. I am now sailing through my tunings with a lot more accuracy and pleasure in feeling the tuning pin as I listen. I find that it really helps to take the time to use just the right tip size for the pin. Then all goes smooth after that.  I am using the angled head with or without the tip extension and the long 7.5 inch tube.  I sometimes put down my impact hammer when I'm tuning verticals and just stand up and use the carbon fiber hammer.  Thanks for your good engineering and good sense."

Chris Gregg, RPT

"I was fortunate to get one of the first new carbon fibre Fujan tuning hammers. I have used it for about three months now and it has revolutionised my tuning. It has made my life so much easier. I use the standard tube with a two inch extension. No sore shoulders at the end of the day. Great on pianos with tight pins. Pin setting is much more accurate and overall working time is significantly reduced. I have interchangeable heads depending on the webbing situation. I also have a quiver case to keep the whole works nicely protected."

Mark Larin from Canada

"I received the new Carbon Fibre Composite hammer yesterday and I was totally impressed. It floated in my hand, compared to my extension hammer. The accuracy that I was able to get the pins set at was instantly evident. I use Tunelab and I was so easily able to get the phase display to where I wanted it, I quickly understood how the other (albeit fine) hammer had been limiting my performance. The range of motion with the ball lever (which fits my hand beautifully) freed me up from my traditional, limited selection of positions. As per your 30 day money-back offer....forget it! I'm keeping this hammer for a very long time! "

Mike Ashburn

"I have been using the tuning hammer you sent me. After receiving the box, I first thought it was empty but a moment later I thought "Oh, this is great. There's no weight." I have been tuning for 27 years and I have about 10 hammers. Yours is the best. Easy to hold, extreme light weight, much less tiring. Thanks for helping me with your new hammer. It makes a big difference. Worth every penny."

Name Witheld

"I bought one of your tuning levers last month. While I had doubts about the 5 degree head, I have had no problems with clearance and will not be exchanging it for a fifteen degree head. I JUST LOVE THIS TUNING LEVER! One of the things that really made the light bulb click on for me was your statement in your article: "It still amazes me that so many technicians have developed an incredible ability to compensate for the flex in their tuning levers". Ten years ago, I sustained a catastrophic brain injury in an automobile accident. My tuning time rose dramatically. I attributed it to the number of decisions one must make in tuning a piano, as well as a loss of cognitve function. However, I seemed to always go past the pitch, no matter how many different techniques I tried in order to refine my hammer technique. I was beginning to suspect my tuning lever might be part of the problem when your article came out in the journal. That statement that I quoted really made me start to think that I had lost my ability to compensate for the flex. The first few pianos I tuned with your lever were in half the time I was spending. I am now in the process of learning to make larger motions and larger changes at the tuning pin. I have found that with your lever and the same motions as my old lever, that I am making infintisimal rotations of the tuning pin and must learn to trust large movements that will not overshoot due to the lever. I feel that it has dramatically increased my accuracy, as well. Thank you so much for developing this lever! It is really a Godsend."

(Ed. note: above customer is using 5/8" tip extension with 5 degree head.)

Greg Griggs

"I've had my hammer a week now and I will not be needing the 30 day evaluation period. I wouldn't think of sending it back to you. Your hammer is truly a great product and lives up to everything I've read about it from other technicians. My only concern is that my customers will order your hammer and start tuning their own pianos with it! Thanks again, it really is worth every penny."

More Testimonials>

Lighter is Better

  • A lightweight lever can help lower the stress of tuning. Your body will thank you!
  • The balance point of the lever being closer to the handle end requires less hand shifting while moving from pin to pin, speeding up your work.

A Big Head is Better

  • The head of the lever is where the action is. The small tapered threads of a traditional lever are a weak point.
  • These small threads can fail, and will allow the lever to flex significantly, no matter how stiff the rest of the lever is.
  • The CarbonTube head attachment uses much larger threads which are a fundamental feature allowing extreme stiffness and the resulting increase in precision.

More Control is Better

  • There seems to be a prevailing notion that shorter levers offer more control and better feel of the pin. We believe this notion is the result of experience with flexible levers. If your lever is flexible, then choking up or going to a shorter version could indeed provide more control. However, if you are using a long CarbonTube lever that is extremely stiff, then you will have MORE CONTROL than a short lever would provide.
  • Please proceed to the Longer is Better, Stiffer is Better, and Bigger is Better sections for more explanation.

Longer is Better

  • Longer levers require less force to attain the required torque (see below).
  • Less force means less physical effort.
  • Less force means less "flagpoling" (bending tendency of tuning pin).
  • Longer levers require more translation of the handle for a given rotation of the pin. Conversely, for a given translation of the handle there will be less rotation of the pin. This gives you more control.
The 13" CarbonTube requires
3.3 lbs less effort!		  The 13" CarbonTube provides
at least 26% more Control!
  

Stiffer is Better

  • Less overshoot at transition to kinetic friction
  • Allows LONGER handle while maintaining adequate stiffness
  • Feel the tuning pin not the lever

As the applied force increases, eventually the static friction is overcome and the pin begins to rotate.

But when the pin begins to rotate the friction between the pin and pin block becomes sliding friction, which is less than static friction.

The "wind up" that is present in deflection of the tuning hammer instantly releases and rotates the pin more than the technician intended, resulting in....

OVERSHOOT.

Bigger is Better

  • Larger section for greater stiffness
  • Tube provides extreme stiffness for material used

Light Materials are Better

  • Allow largest sections for most stiffness
  • Allow practical wall thickness
  • Resulting tool is very lightweight
A given length of the Carbon Fiber tube shown above weighs about half as much as the same length of Steel bar, but the Carbon Fiber tube has about 25 times the bending stiffness of the Steel bar.

What About Titanium?

  • Titanium is a very strong metal. High strength Titanium can be almost as strong as high strength Steel, even though Titanium only weighs about 57% as much for the same size piece. Unfortunately the inherent material stiffness (Elastic Modulus) of Titanium is also only about 57% of steel. This means a given chunk of Titanium will sustain about the same force as the same size chunk of Steel, but the Titanium will deflect almost twice as much.
  • In order to have a Titanium shaft tuning lever that is the same stiffness as a Steel shaft, the Titanium shaft would have to be significantly larger in diameter.

What About Carbon Fiber?

  • Carbon Fiber Composite is a very strong material. The strength and stiffness of carbon fiber composite depends on the orientation of the carbon fiber filaments. The CarbonTube design uses a composite construction that has inherent material stiffness that is greater than aluminum in the bending direction.
  • The result is a lever that has about the same theoretical bending stiffness as the SuperTube aluminum version, but is smaller and lighter.

No Risk 30 Day Money Back Guarantee

  • If you purchase the CarbonTube Piano Tuning Lever and use it for up to 30 days, but are not convinced that it makes your job easier, then return the CarbonTube for a full refund of the purchase price. We do ask that you make an honest effort to actually use the CarbonTube for tuning several complete pianos before you make a decision, and that you keep it in reasonable condition.