[pianotech] buttons and shoes - was pulley key...

[Delwin D Fandrich]

I pretty much concur with Ron. Maple--or birch or beech or whatever the
local substitute is--for the buttons. Poplar--or, again, whatever the local
substitute is--for the shoe. It's on the top of the lever where tensile
strength is important.

For the same reason I don't like using thinned hide glue to size the balance
pin hole--it makes the thing too hard and if there is any gap they click.
Maple is too hard for the shoe. If ever there is a slight gap they click.
The shoe material doesn't really have to be all that hard to hold up well;
remember there are millions of spruce, pine, bass or whatever keys out there
that have worked pretty well for a really long time. And, of course, a few
that didn't.

ddf

Delwin D Fandrich
Piano Design & Fabrication
6939 Foothill Court SW, Olympia, Washington 98512 USA
Phone  360.515.0119 — Cell  360.388.6525
del at fandrichpiano.com — ddfandrich at gmail.com


-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of David Love
Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 6:53 AM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] buttons and shoes - was pulley key...

Thanks for changing the subject line.  And what's your reasoning for not
wanting maple on the shoe?  

David Love
www.davidlovepianos.com


-----Original Message-----
From: Ron Nossaman [mailto:rnossaman at cox.net]
Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 5:23 AM
To: davidlovepianos at comcast.net; pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] buttons and shoes - was pulley key...

On 9/26/2012 11:49 PM, David Love wrote:
> On a related matter, what's your opinion about the type of wood that 
> should be used for key shoes and buttons. How hard is too hard, how 
> soft is too soft?

Del's may differ, but my preference is maple or poplar for buttons, and
poplar for shoes.
Ron N