Percussion instrument repairers work on drums, cymbals, and xylophones. In order to repair a drum, they remove drum tension rod screws and rods by hand or using a drum key. They cut new drumheads from animal skin, stretch the skin over rimhoops and tuck it around and under the hoop using hand tucking tools. They may operate a drill press or hand power drill to drill holes at the inside end of cracks in cymbals, gongs, or similar instruments, to prevent their advance, and cut out sections around cracks using shears or grinding wheels. They also replace xylophone bars and wheels.
Piano tuners adjust piano strings to the proper pitch.
The work of musical instrument repairers and tuners is relatively safe, although they may suffer small cuts and bruises. Most brass, woodwind, percussion, and string instrument repairers work in repair shops or music stores. Piano and organ repairers and tuners usually work on instruments in homes, schools, and churches and may spend several hours a day driving. Employment Musical instrument repairers and tuners held about 12,000 jobs in 1992. Most worked on pianos.