<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1555" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thin CA</FONT></DIV> <DIV>Joe Goss RPT<BR>Mother Goose Tools<BR><A href="mailto:imatunr@srvinet.com">imatunr@srvinet.com</A><BR><A href="http://www.mothergoosetools.com">www.mothergoosetools.com</A></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=A440A@aol.com href="mailto:A440A@aol.com">A440A@aol.com</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, August 29, 2007 8:22 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> stiffening keys</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">Greetings, <BR>   I have been wondering what to do with a mid-sixties Steinway.  It has the Pratt-Read keys and they are sorta limber. I think this is due to the poor wood, and lack of large plates.  <BR>so,  since there is no budget for rebuilding the keys with new buttons and larger plates top and bottom,  I have been wondering whether there is any stiffening to be gained by simply painting the sides of the keys with West System epoxy.  It seems that it would gain something by soaking into the wood.  I even thought about laying some strands of carbon fibers along the middle length and painting the epoxy over them,(I have seen this done on motorcycle fairing repairs, and was amazed at the strength it imparted).  <BR>   Anybody tried this?  <BR>thanks, <BR><BR><BR><BR>Ed Foote RPT<BR></FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"></FONT><BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR>Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>