Don't know if this applies per se, but you might check out http://www.wagner-technical.com for ivory key repair rather than replacement. > Terry, > Ivory and bone are natural materials. My experience in applying new > ivory and bone as well as restoring factory applied ivory and bone is > this. Ivory is translucent (slightly see-thru) and a linen wafer > underneath makes it appear white. Bone is less translucent and remains > an off-white in appearance even with a linen wafer. I have seen bone > keytop material as white as ivory but it was from a German company and > they wont sell to me. Grain varies widely in ivory depending on the > "cut" it can be straight, wavy or the flame-point or fingerprint > pattern we all know and love. Bone has grain but it is usually > straight or non-existent. Both are hard, tricky to machine and hold an > edge and buff well. Ivory has very tight pores and bone is more > porous, and if not surfaced properly will be very evident. Ivory and > bone will both become dirty if the pores are not saturated with > compound from buffing. This brings up a good point, buffing serves a > few purposes. Buffing saturates the pores with wax or compound and > seals them, this keeps dirt and moisture out, buffing also improves > the appearance of ivory, bone, and plastic by smoothing and making the > surface flat and in turn it will reflect more light and be visually > more appealing. Buffing ivory and bone at required intervals will > prolong there life by preventing the elements from disintegrating > them. Both ivory and bone are vulnerable to environmental changes > (temperature and humidity). For example place an ivory head in a moist > face-cloth overnight and then look at it in the morning, you'll be > surprised to see the change in dimension and consistency. Both ivory > and bone will darken in color over time and I think bone appears to > darken faster and it may only be because the material is darker to > begin with, not necessarily it's composition. As far as feel, ivory > and bone both grip your fingers, wick-off moisture, and are less > slippery than plastic. Ivory and bone are both very durable if > maintained properly. I have a 1860's square grand in my shop with a > wonderful set of original ivory. New ivory (legal pre-ban) and bone > are readily available. Ivory is more expensive and preferred but a lot > of people accept bone as a nice alternative to ivory. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Terry > To: Pianotech > Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 7:45 AM > Subject: Re: Moulded Keytops > > > What can you say about comparing and contrasting bone and ivory (color, > grain, feel, durability, etc.)? I've heard that bone is more porous and > gets dirtier more easily. Please educate us! > > Terry Farrell > > I apply keytops for a living and there are several factors to > consider when choosing a top. The quality of the keytop, quality > of the piano, quality of the rebuild, preference of the customer, > knowledge and preference of the technician and budget. Crappy > "molded" keytops are nice if applied properly, and three thousand > dollars worth of new ivory is "crappy" if not applied properly. > Molded keytops have the advantage of being inexpensive, uniform in > shape and appearance, and relatively easy to apply with minimal > skill, tooling and yields fair results. A disadvantage is that > many people feel that they are a cheap top and as a result do not > use them. Other materials ivory, bone and the variety of plastics > are usually in a slab or oversize form and require more skill, > tooling and money. In addition when you go from a molded keytop > with fronts attached to a keytop without a front attached you > double your workload. Vagias is a simulated ivory top made of > plastic and I've found that people either like it or don't there > is no in between. Ivorine (pyralin) is still around and preferred > to acrylics because of the plastics available it feels similar to > ivory. New ivory and bone are available and preferred by most but > are costly and not always in the budget.
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC