[pianotech] pully keys

[William Truitt]

That advantage only exists if the keys are not oblongated, which can mean
that, if you ran a straight edge to the key fronts, you might see that not
all keys would be in a straight line.  The workaround with this tool is to
add the step of using a balance rail punching about .015 in diameter, which
you place on the balance rail pin. You put some hide glue on the bottom of
the key and drop it down onto the punching.  Pick up the straight edge and
align the key to the edge.  Move on down the line as needed.  When dry, use
the hole in the punching as your guide to center the cutting tool in the
key.  Proceed with the wood inserts you made and not the crap inserts that
come with the kit.

Will Truitt

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of John Delacour
Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2010 2:01 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] pully keys

At 12:33 -0400 20/4/10, Mike Morvan wrote:

>     I have not seen any maple used on vintage Steinways, they did have
caps
>on the top of the key and shoes on the bottoms of some models as you
stated,
>but the ones I have seen were all basswood. Basswood is harder than
>sugarpine or spruce and is a hardwood, but  a soft one at that.

Ah basswood.  Yes, a lot of English pianos had the keys entirely of 
basswood, which I believe came from Canada and was considered 
superior to lime, which has a tendency to warp.  As I've said, the 
keys on Kirkmans are, I think, of lime and do not warp.  Although 
lime is harder than basswood they still found it preferable to make 
an insert of harder wood for the balance hole.  I thought it was 
maple but it may be hornbeam --I'll take a closer look.  I took some 
pictures today but left the camera at the workshop.  You will be 
interested to see them.

>Good luck, balance holes are tricky to replace. Please be aware that
>several of the methods of fixing balance holes that are available as kits
>and some of the shimming methods mentioned, all fail to take into
>consideration where the balance hole was originally. If the original
>location of the balance hole is not determined prior to some type of
repair,
>than the key position can be off in relation to the pins and neighboring
>keys. This will be visible and have regulation consequences.

The great advantage of the tool Bruce mentioned is that it preserves 
the position of the original hole perfectly.  The central guide 
pressed tightly into the hole so that the washer is centred 
accurately even in ovalized holes and there is no wobble.

JD
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