I received the following question from a technician in response to my 2012 video describing use of the Grandwork™ Squaring Platform and Hammer Square. Q: Do you also square up the bass hammers? I often see them tilted so that they don't interfere with the neighboring hammers. A: Thanks for your question - exactly the right one, too! The short ...

The experienced regulator/voicer has filing skills, regulating chops, voicing tricks, and an array of solutions to apply in response to constraints of piano, time, budget, and the vicissitudes of by-eye referencing. Even for them, variables represent challenges and simpler is better. For the rest of us, simpler is way better.

So. My tools or yours, travel and square hammers to vertical, position the action in the piano for best tone, and level strings to hammers in the piano. This needs to be coordinated with settling the wire throughout its lengths to finish with the fit at pitch and the piano in tune.