Bruce:  Consider thus: The string is flat, so you tighten it to bring up 
the pitch.  You are working against two forces, the friction in the wood 
and the tension of the string.  You tighten the string till it is just 
sharp and then back off slightly to bring the pitch done from above.  
You are working against one force, the friction in the wood.

When tightening up, the progress of the tuning hammer tends not to be 
smooth.  It tends to be a series of small jerks.  When approaching from 
the top, the motion is smoother.

In my machine shop, I made my own hammer from an inexpensive hammer that 
had a excellent star shaped socket.  I removed the wood handle and 
replaced it with a 12 inch length of heavy brass rod, 1 inch in 
diameter.  The extra length increases the torque on the socket without 
increasing the force needed to turn it and the weight smooths out the 
jerkiness.  The overall length of my hammer is 19 inches.

Tom Roach
Waterloo, Ontario
519 746 5324
519 503 3806

On 2016-09-27 10:43, Bruce Jacobs wrote:
>
> Just one hanging question, does the “approach the pitch from above instead of below” offer any advantage to earlier pianos, like my Walter?
>
> Bruce Jacobs
> Saint Paul
>
>
>
>

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