Chris Yes glue wafers are still used. I think they are the best way to attach ivory. It is really not that hard -- but does take some time and probably not suited for in the home or quick fix type repair. We, or should I say my wife actually, put on two whole sets of ivory heads and tails just this past month. If the original glue wafer is not damaged ie. torn, or worn from being used with no cover, it can often be re-activated with a few drops of water. Put a ivory clamp on and align to the key. Add a little heat even from a match or lighter will work for a quick repair. For doing new wafers most of the work is preparing the key surface and the ivory, scraping with a razor blade has been mentioned and works, a cabinet scraper works as well. Get all of the ivory matched up for each key, we even tape them on so they won't get mixed up or knocked off, the fitting takes the most time. Lay out several ivory clamp plates and place a iron on them to heat. Soak the wafers in warm water maybe 10 to 15 seconds untill it curls up some - feels a little "slimey". Remove the heat from the plates ( as you get into the process you have some plates heating and some cooling) using tweezers or pliers place the plate on the ivory. The plate should be warm (not 212 degrees, I don't think, but then I try not to touch them by hand) in other words a little hot to handle. Practice helps and if you do a whole set you'll get some practice. Tighten the clamps and they will try to slide, spend as much time as it takes on this step. You should see glue squeeze out. The rest of the work involves trimming the excess wafer from the sides. sanding and leveling the ivory,rounding the edges and buffing the standard stuff. We look at the old ivory remaining as a very limited and precious resource. We attempt to salavage as much as possible, preserve as many ivory keyboards as is feasible or practical. Mark Ritchie Cols,OH
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