Pulley Keys

[Erwinspiano@aol.com]

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     Bill Spurlock has  a method for doing this as well & it's fairly low 
tech. I've done this a few times with his method but it's a bit slow The secret 
is a flat piece of steel with a hole fore the balance rail pin drilled in 
it.This slips over the pin on the keyframe in place of the balance punching & then 
the key is placed on top of it. The key front is lined up to a straight edge 
running across the fronts of the keys & then it is pushed down on the steel 
plate jig that has the tip of a center pin just protruding above the surface of 
the jig on each end. This puts the reference marks about 1/2" on either side of 
the balance hole. Remove the key ,cut out a the offending area,glue in a new 
piece off bass wood or whatever then hold the key in a cross vice, lay the jig 
back in the reference marks & drill the new  hole thru the locator hole in 
the jig. 
   Dale
Hi David,

>That sounds like an ingenious way to do one key, but unfortunately there are 
88 which have the same problem...

<shrug>

I was mostly suggesting a solution for Terry's job, in which there are about 
a half dozen difficult keys.  I happen to own the keys in question!  ;-)

Here's an idea that is totally untried and untested, but definitely cheap:

How about black fiber washers?  Some nut and bolt supplier may be able to 
supply these things pretty cheaply.  They seem pretty tough, more so than 
hardwood (?), and I imagine they're quite durable.  I don't know the material, but 
they should be gluable -- possibly with Titebond, and most certainly with epoxy. 
 Perhaps one could get a bag of, oh, a couple hundred of them for a buck or 
two, and ream the center hole to the needed size with a sharp bit.

How to cut the recess in the keystick?  Use a pilot-point drill bit, chucked 
in a drill press.  Pilot-point bits, made by DeWalt, I believe, cut 
flat-bottomed holes -- with a demple in the middle (the pilot point).  Clamp the key 
firmly, and make all the necessary adjustments to limit travel to the desired 
depth.  The key can be positioned in the clamp with a removable balance rail pin, 
which would extend from the clamp, through the keystick.  Once in position, 
clamp, and then remove the pin.  Drill, glue your un-reamed fiber washer, and 
move on.  After the glue is dried/cured, ream the entire set to the correct 
size.

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