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 Testimonials about the CarbonTube

Mark E. Adams, RPT
 "After thirty years and 9 million pins, your lever is truly the best! My tuning is at least 20% faster. Challenging conditions like high torque or jumpy pins and even clicking agraffes are under control more than I have ever experienced! Thank you for taking the time. All the best."

Jerry Groot, RPT
"I would LOVE to make a comment regarding your tuning hammer. I made this purchase upon a recommendation of a good technician friend that I respect highly. One day we were tuning together in a college that I service. He let me use his Fujan hammer. I didn't want to give it back and in fact, for fun, went back into his room, stomping my foot like a little kid saying "I WANT IT BACK!" Which, of course, brought out quite a bit of laughter from the two of us. It is a fabulous tuning hammer, the Mercedes of tuning hammers in my opinion. Here is a very interesting note.. My son, who is a very beginning tuner, was using my old fashioned "Hale" tuning hammer. After I purchased my new Fujan tuning hammer, I let him try it. I was AMAZED at two things. 1. His speed improved my 50%. Honest! 2. His accuracy also improved by 50%. Why? Because you can feel every tiny little movement of the tuning pin with this tuning hammer! I recommend every technician should buy one!

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! "

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 .)

More Testimonials>


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.