Pianotech

I use an impact lever, but only for the areas which are so problematic. Attempt to keep the impacts small so the pitch doesn't run past your target. For the bass and lower mid-range I use my regular tuning hammer, and those areas offer little challenge.

If you take on a client (institution) with a number of these, you may end up mastering them, though you might get a few gray hairs in the process. I've read posts by people tuning for all-Steinway institutions who said that the uprights no longer offered any more problems than any other pianos -- but I would guess that was not true for them in the beginning.

I attempt to approach the pitch slowly, from below, and not go past it. Part of the trouble tuning these is that if the pitch moves a lot as one attempts to get it to move at all, that introduces a lot of hidden instability, which appears on its own schedule.

The Yamahas tune better, but I notice that given the choice, pianists prefer to practice on the 1098's. Once they are properly tuned, the tuning is really quite stable, and the tone is very rich. with a lot of variety possible.

I'm afraid it's natural for piano techs to confuse pianos inconvenient to work on with inferior pianos. The Steinway 1098 seems to be the best example of a piano which can be a real bear for us, but which is better than its peers for a musician.

I find that using an impact lever on the 1098's, and that using my regular pulled-long extension hammer in an impact way (tapping, whacking, etc.) means that I don't need to fiddle with the angle for stability, like keeping it at 12 noon, etc.

I put it wherever it is most comfortable physically, generally at 2 or 3 o'clock. When tuning by impact (with or without the impact lever), the force is put on the pin for a very short length of time, and then immediately any twist which happened is reversed because one no longer is leaning on the lever. Applying the whack or slap in a good direction also makes flapoling unlikely, leaving only the immediately neutralized twist to be an issue.

Don't forget the flapoling because the tuning pins have no plate bearings made of wood around them. And don't forget the long duplex between the bearing and the counterbearing, more like a grand than an upright. Tension differences can hide in it, more than in a shorter more typical upright duplex.