black keys

[Les Smith]

>
> A friend of mine, who is also my accountant, purchased a Gr. piano real cheep.
> When I arrived at his home to tune it and do some "minor" repairs on it ALL the
> black keys were missing. (the wood key, the capstan, the ebony  and the
> back-check.)
> Could anyone out there suggest the type of wood the keys are made of.  Also how
> to go about cutting them and shape them to the neighboring white keys.
> Any input will be greatly appreciated.
> Thanks!
>
> George Takats
> 102465,3420@compuserve.com
> geotak@accent.net
>
Hi, George.  No wonder he got the piano cheap! You didn't mention the
make of piano, or it's age, but if the company is still in business you
probably will find it easiest to contact them or their U.S. distributor
about replacing the missing black keys. It's not too big a deal to make
one or two replacement keys, but 36 keys is a lot of work! Basswood is
commonly used in keymaking. Since all the keys are commonly cut out of a
single piece of wood, putting two adjacent white keys together (like F
and G) will give you the outline and angle of the black key in between
(F#). So assuming that you have access to a bandsaw, drill press, etc.,
you COULD fabricate a set of black keys, but it's  a BIG job. So try
the factory first. If that's not possible you might want to try someone
who specializes in key replacements. Good luck! BTW, when you tuned the
piano, did you give him a 40% discount? :)

Les Smith
lessmith@buffnet.net