Keytop Trimming Question/Dave Smith

[J Patrick Draine]

On Wednesday, April 30, 2003, at 10:57  AM, Dave Smith wrote:

> Patrick, you raise an interesting question.  I understand that wood 
> shrinks
> and swells with humidity changes.  But is there really a systematic, 
> long
> term, significant shrinkage of properly seasoned wood, independent of
> humidity effects?  I may be showing my extreme ignorance here, but 
> that's
> not a new thing.  What makes me ask is that if the width of the key 
> shrinks
> significantly over decades,wouldn't the other two dimensions shrink
> significantly also?  Key length and height -  at least maybe height.

Sorry, you won't catch me pretending to be a wood technologist. 
Practically speaking though it's quite disheartening to see the many 
rebuilds hereabouts, whose ivories have been "relaid" by the region's 
keyboard gurus, only to see the ivory hanging over the sides, waiting 
to nick the player's fingers.
Of course down in Florida you don't get the wet-dry cycle we have up 
here in New England.

Patrick