Hi, all and David in Dallas, After splitting keys with several removal schemes I finally settled for pressing them out. If you have 1/2" weights clamp a board onto the drill press and drill a 5/8" hole into the board. Actually it should be a 1x3 drilled off center to allow naturals with the notch down to be possitioned for removal. Use a 3/8" spade bit oriented with the grain of the key to press out the weight from left to right side of the key. The weights fall through the hole in the table to a box resting on the base. This is simple, effective and provide the best support to help prevent splitting. Since the keys are already split, work some glue into the splits before weight removal then clamp togather to restore key integrity. I have found that a small arbor press (.5 ton) is the safest means of replacing key weights. A nice steady pressure will prevent splitting of keys and the weights can be swadged with an appropriate tool with splitting keys as well. Hope everything comes out well. Newton nhunt@gandalf.rutgers.edu
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