[ Bill Maguire wrote in 110809 MMDigest --

> Many old piano hacks would even use the back of the tuning
> "wrench lever" to hammer in the pins (which is why it's called
> a "tuning hammer" to this day).  Why?  I don't know.

Old harpsichord tuning pins were tapered.  Thus, if they were loose,
they would be tapped down into the wrestplank hole to tighten them up.
Thin harpsichord tuning hammers actually have a flat head on one end
of the Tee in order to actually use them as a hammer.  Modern piano
tuning hammers are sometimes called wrenches.

Mark Ritzenhein