Removing key fronts

[John Delacour]

At 5:49 pm +0000 31/7/07, pianotuna55 at comcast.net wrote:

>...If the front doesn't come off easily, hold it against the iron 
>for a second or two and remove with chisel.  You'll learn how long 
>to heat.
>
>If you can do a good job with a table saw, fine, but there 
>areÊchances for error.

I also use heat, usually from an old iron (only because I've never 
bothered to make a proper fixed heated block) but I would never use a 
chisel.  I use an old style table knife, rather blunt, which passes 
easily along the glue line and lifts the fronts, tops or tails easily 
without bending and breaking them.  As you say, one needs to get the 
time right on the first few.  It's also a good idea to have a cotton 
cloth between the iron and the ivory or celluloid to avoid scorching, 
especially if the ivory is good enough to re-use.

I have no plans to switch to using a table saw or a sledge-hammer to 
crack this little nut.

If the keyboard is to be scrapped but you want the ivory, the 
quickest way to get it, provided traditional glue has been used, is 
to dump the keys on a large bucket of cold water for a day, as I did 
last week with a couple of sets.

JD