Tuning wrench question

[Sherri Matthew]

I have a slightly annoying problem: sometimes while tuning my wire harp my tuning wrench “sticks” and when I pull it away, the pin gets drawn back slightly also, causing me to lose my tuning. I’ve worked around this by gently pushing in just before tuning and sometimes this helps holds the pin, but then my tuning wrench doesn’t want to let go easily! Any suggestions? I’ve thought of sprinkling a little talcum powder into the wrench socket but I don’t know if that would make it too slippery and not hang onto the pin. Anybody else run into this?

[Sherj DeSantis]

Hi Sherri,
I am assuming the wrench might be older and need replacing. There are so many changes to what goes into metals these days, and they can be soft and easily distorted. I have had the same issues with my pedal harp tuning key. Hope this might help! Sherj

[Sherri Matthew]

Hi Sherj,
I got it in 2009 but then I tune frequently. It never occurred to me the metal might be distorting. I don’t know what the metal material is. Did you have to replace your key when this started happening to you? As an aside, I know metal fatigue can be an issue with wire strings and frequent tuning but so far (knock on wood) I haven’t run into any breakage issues there. Not yet, anyway!

[eliza-morrison]

Trying a different tuning key would be a good place to start, and much less expensive than new pins…or a new neck! I hope that solves the problem.

[Sherj DeSantis]

Sherri, try this link below. I hope it works. Let me know what you think about the article. I also can’t take credit for the above suggestion. It came from my very trustworthy harp tech, Paul Knoke. Sherj

http://www.harptech.com/Articles/TuningPins/TuningPins.html

[Sherri Matthew]

Hi Sherj,
Wow, thanks tons for the article! Yes, the last entry is my problem – the tuning key is indeed worn. I shined a flashlight down inside mine and it looks like the diagram they show there – even some metal burr at the bottom! There’s a lot of wear on all sides. I inspected my pins and they’re still in good shape,but will definitely get a new tuning key on order from Triplett.

Very well written article by the way, and it answers a problem I had run into a few weeks ago with one of my strings, where he talks about the angle of the string and the pin bouncing back. That one kind of solved itself when I pushed the wire wrap so I had the correct angle, but now I know what it should be, rather than guessing.

[Sherj DeSantis]

I liked the article too. It’s one of those things I made a favorite so I could refer back to it, just for such an occasion. I’m glad it was a help, and so much less expensive than other repair options. Sherj

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