key broken by two techs

[Alan Barnard]

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Without seeing the actual damage and condition of the key, and without knowing your woodworking capabilities, I offer only this thought: I would not reengineer the piano to match the butchered key. 

Rather, I would restore the key, even if it meant manufacturing a new one, or maybe everything from the just behind the keytop to the back of the key and assembled with a dove-tail joint, or something similar, that provides some mechanical strength and lots of glue contact surface area.

Tomorrow, I get to tune "The Betsy Ross." Pray for me.

Alan Barnard
Salem, Missouri


----- Original Message ----- 
From: 
To: pianotech@ptg.org
Sent: 09/28/2005 6:32:47 PM 
Subject: key broken by two techs


List
Got a call from a lady who said, 'her key was broken'.   Skeptical, I asked her about it, and she says that two technicians have tried to fix this key and now it's worse than ever.  So, intrigued, I made an appointment to go look at it.

Turns out the key itself did break and the previous technician spliced it back together with splints on each side.  Looked well done.  Things is...it looks like he ADDED a bit of wood between the two pieces of the key and now the key is too long.  It sticks out 1/16" past the others in front.  I looked at it from every which angle and it is definitely too long between the balance rail pin and the front of the keytop.  And there is definitely a piece of contrasting wood between the two parts of the key.  Unbelievably, it looks like he put some wood inbetween, making the key longer.

Why?  Why would he do this?  And when she pointed out to him that it looked terrible, he said he couldn't do anything about it and left. 

Anyway, here are my two options for remedying this and I'd like to hear pros, cons, or other alternatives.

#1: This key is a pulley key anyway.  Even when pushed all the way back, though, it's still 1/16" too long.  So...I could drill out the front rim of the balance rail hole, making the front of the balance rail hole closer to the front.  Then treat it as a pulley key; saw a kerf and insert some veneer in the back of the hole, effectively moving the balance rail hole forward 1/16" and therefore moving the front of the key backward.

However this will also move the capstan, backcheck and keyend felt back 1/16", too.  So, my best option, I think is:

#2: Get a handsaw, and saw the key in half, somewhere other than where the splice is, but in front of the balance rail hole, and then glue the two pieces back together.  If I use a big old lumber saw, I should lose a 1/16" just where the saw ate the wood up.   Glue it back together, and it's 1/16" shorter!

I'm not going to get two chances to fix this.  This key already has two splices in it (it has broken twice in two different places).   It's a dogleg key with a notch cut out of it for the glide bolt, so structurally it's the weakest key you could imagine.  The piano is a THE HAMILTON grand.  (That's what it says, THE HAMILTON.)

At this point, it's a matter of pride that I be able to fix this key that two other techs screwed up.  And...I told her in addition to my hourly rate, my fee would include knowing who this other technician was.  But only if I were able to fix the key.  If not, she could tell my name to the guy who did fix it!

I guess a third option would be moving the balance rail pin back 1/16", but that also would move the capstan, etc. back, so I still think the saw is the best alternative.

Any thoughts, advice, flames?  

Tom Sivak
Chicago 
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