The main thing is to be sure that you don't reglue the key back together at an angle. If the fracture has enough surface area you often don't need a piece of veneer. You might try to dry assemble the key and gently put it on the balance rail pin to see if the front is the same height as the others to be sure you don't have an angle there. If it matches, gently take the key off the balance rail and set it on a flat surface. If in fact the key is flat, then apply glue trying to keep it out of the balance rail hole (and off the bushing of course), set the key on a sheet of wax paper on the same flat surface to be sure you got the joint back together correctly lightly clamping the key to the table to keep it flat and to make sure the button joint is tight and let the glue set up for 30 minutes. You can then can gently lift the key and clean out any squeeze out that may have gotten into the balance hole. Titebond is nice because it sets up quickly and will be stronger than the wood when it sets up. If the break doesn't have enough surface area then glue on a piece of veneer at this point. A thin piece of maple veneer available commercially works well. After the veneer dries (15-20 minutes) you should be able to replace the key. Tell them not to play it for 24 hours. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Matthew Todd Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 1:20 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: [pianotech] Fractured Keystick Hello list, I need to repair a fractured keystick on a clients piano. There is a fracture on both sides in the area below the button. The front of the button has come unglued as a result. My fix was going to be try to get as much wood glue in the fracture and under the key button as possible, then get a thin piece of veneer and glue on each side of the keystick, clamp and dry. Then sand the sides to fit once installed back in the piano. Yes or no? TODD PIANO WORKS Matthew Todd, Piano Technician (979) 248-9578 http://www.toddpianoworks.com <http://www.toddpianoworks.com/> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech_ptg.org/attachments/20081203/9cc21bd9/attachment-0001.html>
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