stuck steinway grand keyslip

[Les Smith]

On Mon, 12 Oct 1998 JIMRPT@AOL.COM wrote:

> 
> In a message dated 10/12/98 6:11:44 PM, chikring@midcoast.com wrote:
> 
> <<Dear Pianotech List,
> 
> I have a customer with a Steinway Grand ( 6'10") with a keyslip I cannot seem
> to remove.I am afraid to use anything between the piano and the keyslip to pry
> it up.It has a new black finish.I think the wood has swelled from the moisture
> we enjoy here along the coast of Maine.
> 
> Is there a special technique I can use to remove this stuck keyslip.
> 
> This is my first time on the list .Your help would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> ------------>>
> 
> Arthur, just take out the cheek block screws and lift the entire assembly,
> i.e. fallboard, cheekblocks, and keyslip, out at one time.   If you have
> trouble getting the cheeks loose run the screws back in part way and tap on
> them, the screws, from underneath.
>  One of these ways should help.
>   If this piano has just been refinished check to make sure that someone
> hasn't put a screw or two in the keyslip rather than repair and bad retaing
> mortise.
> Jim Bryant (FL)
> 

To Jim's (and Ed's) always good advice, I can only add that if the
piano was recently refinished, it's possible the keyslip was installed
before the paint was completely dry. I can understand your reluctance 
to try prying the kepslip for fear of scratching the paint, but never-
theless, suggest that you consider carrying in your tool kit, several
colors of the felt-tip, pen-like, paint-touch-up markers sold by com-
panies like Mohawk, Star and others. Accidents like a dropped tuning
hammer can occur when you least expect them, and having immediate ac-
cess to the proper-color touch-up marker in many cases can save your
you-know-what.  Piano-movers routinely carry these. Then,if a minor
accident does occur, one mover  distracts the customer, while another
quickly touches up the scratch.. The black color is also useful for
touching up sharp keysticks, where uncolored wood shows when an adjacent
white key is depressed.

Les Smith