Installing new key end felts

[Tom Sivak]

NOW you tell me.  
   
  Thanks for the informatvie and well written post.  NEXT time, I'll try it this way.  (I was not happy with the unevenness of the precutting that I did.  Luckily, it's in one of those places nobody ever sees.  And they are functioning perfectly, so, oh, well...next time maybe they'll even look good, too.)
   
  Tom Sivak
  Chicago

Mark Dierauf <pianotech at nhpianos.com> wrote:
  
Not long ago there was some list discussion about this particular job,
and since I just finished doing a set I thought I'd post these pics with
a short description.

I glue the felt on with hide glue in strips that cover about one section
at a time, with a little extra to overhang the end keys by at least 1/8"
or so. I don't clamp the keys together, but just press them tightly
together before gluing, using straightedges to carefully align the keys
fore and aft. I apply the glue only to the felt, not to the keysticks. I
use lengths of thin wood strips on top of the felt to apply even
pressure with two or three large spring clamps, and clamp each section
down to the edge of my work bench.

I let the glue set overnight, and then slice the keys apart using a long
blade in a large X-acto handle, aligning the blade by starting the cut
well inboard of the felt - I think this shows clearly in the second
picture. I get a nice clean cut that is flush with the key sides, except
for the 1/8" overhang on the end keys of each section. For these, I turn
the key over onto a scrap block of wood and slice down with the blade
flush against the side of the key. 

I'm sure many or most of you figured this out long ago, but it was
apparent from the previous posts that some people were pre-cutting the
felt and glueing them on individually, and I believe that this way, or
some variation of it, gives much better results in less time.

- Mark Dierauf

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