Price of Ivory

[David Love]

It depends on how you want to do it.  If you are regluing an ivory by
reconstituting the hide glue, trying to match the original color (of the
glue) so that the translucent ivory maintains the same color as the others
when glued down, clamping to get the head and tail flush and the seam as
imperceptible as possible, sanding, polishing and buffing, then 30-60
minutes is not unreasonable and you should charge accordingly.  If you are
just going to stick it back on with CA glue in 30 seconds or less, then I
would probably consider it covered within my normal service fee.  If they
don't want to pay to maintain ivory, then plastic is always available.

David Love
davidlovepianos@earthlink.net


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Dave Nereson 
To: pianotech@ptg.org
Sent: 6/13/2003 12:03:42 AM 
Subject: Re: Price of Ivory


Wim said: "The charge for the ivory twice what you paid for it..". I can
live with that.<G> ",plus a few bucks to put them on." This I can't live
with!
To properly Replace an Ivory head/tail, it takes appoximately 1 hour to do
the job right, IMO. So....., you should charge a retail price for the Ivory
Head or Tail, Plus one hour of your "Shop Rate". If you are simply regluing
a "recent" ivory "fall off", then, at least 1/2 hour would be required. (And
no charge for the Ivory.


Say your hourly rate is only $50.  Then just the labor to reglue an ivory
is $25, if it takes a half hour, and that's if the the ivory wasn't
missing.  I can think of very very few piano owners that would pay that
much for just one key.  Maybe the people with nice grands that have
almost-pristine ivories.  Everybody else would just say, "Forget it; I'll
stick it on myself with Crazy Glue!"
    What one should charge and what people will pay are two different
things.  
    --David Nereson, RPT