<!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 6.00.6000.16608" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Rick,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    I will post that picture again with this reply. It is normal and smart to have a thin piece of wood glued to the front of the key under ivory or bone fronts.  The reason is because nothing glues well to end grain in this manner (a butt joint).  Ivory and bone are less porous than wood so their joint is even poorer still, again, in this manner, but if you glue your ivory on to wood first, usually Basswood, it will glue up better to the end grain than the ivory or bone by itself, thus giving you the most effective glue joint for the situation. Plastic fronts don't have these same problems, they are not a natural material, and don't expand and contract like ivory and wood, plus they are not porous, so their bond works on a different principle.  Good luck,   Mike</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Michael A. Morvan<BR>Blackstone Valley Piano<BR>Dedicated To Advancing The Art Of Keyboard Restoration<BR>76 Sutton Street<BR>Uxbridge, Ma. 01569<BR>(508) 278-9762<BR><A href="mailto:Keymaestro@verizon.net">Keymaestro@verizon.net</A><BR><A href="http://www.pianoandorgankeys.com">www.pianoandorgankeys.com</A>                                                                                              <BR><A href="http://www.thepianorebuilders.com">www.thepianorebuilders.com</A></FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr 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=richard.ucci@att.net href="mailto:richard.ucci@att.net">richard.ucci@att.net</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech List</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, March 02, 2008 1:26 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: steinway keys</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <P>Hi Mike,</P> <P>Couldn't get an image to come up, but yes , that is the situation. Is it norman to have that 1-2 mm piece of wood at the front with the ivory front glued to it? Couldn't I just remove the whole piece with the ivory still attached and glue on a new front?</P> <P> </P> <P>It may end up being a couple mm more in distance from the keyslip, but I don't think that would be a problem. <BR></P> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">-------------- Original message from "MICHAEL MORVAN" <keymaestro@verizon.net>: -------------- <BR><BR> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16608" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Rick,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    If the problem you are having is the same as the picture below than the options are few. The front peels forward with the ivory attached to it, and after years of play, crud gets stuck behind it and the oils from fingers usually penetrate the wood and prevent it from reattaching even with a proper clamp and glue. Heat the fronts with an iron and try to scrape them off without damaging the surface then apply new ones.   Good Luck,    Mike</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Michael A. Morvan<BR>Blackstone Valley Piano<BR>Dedicated To Advancing The Art Of Keyboard Restoration<BR>76 Sutton Street<BR>Uxbridge, Ma. 01569<BR>(508) 278-9762<BR><A href="mailto:Keymaestro@verizon.net">Keymaestro@verizon.net</A><BR><A href="http://www.pianoandorgankeys.com/">www.pianoandorgankeys.com</A>                                                                                              <BR><A href="http://www.thepianorebuilders.com/">www.thepianorebuilders.com</A></FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr 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=richard.ucci@att.net href="mailto:richard.ucci@att.net">richard.ucci@att.net</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> Sunday, March 02, 2008 12:05 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> steinway keys</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>Hi folks,</DIV> <DIV>I'm working on a Steinway grand ca:1911.</DIV> <DIV>The keyfronts are pulling away from the top, sort of curving out towards the front like this (.</DIV> <DIV>They also seem to be comprised of a 1-2 mm separate piece of wood glued to the keystick with the front glued to it.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Should I pull all of them off and just go with new keyfronts ? The fronts seem to be ivory, but are cracking.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks,</DIV> <DIV>Rick Ucci/Ucci Piano</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>