<!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 6.00.6000.16640" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Terry, Ron, Garret, and everyone,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The Samick piano with the mulched keys was 'inherited' by it's owners with a condo purchase.  They wanted to be able to sell the piano.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I arrived at the scene armed with only the basic piano information and that several keys seemed to be broken.  I was totally amazed when I saw the pile of mulch strewn with a few key leads in the key bed.  Don't mice get splinters?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I could visualize that pesky creature merrily chewing away, spitting out, with a teeny pleewy sound, the occasional lead as he progressed. (Actually, as can be seen in the original photo, he chewed up to lead, then quit and started on the next key until he met lead, etc.)</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Always up for a challenge, I assured the customer I could fix the keys.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Yes, Terry, new keywood was scarf jointed between the front 'half' and the back w/capstans.  I could have made new back sections in their entirety, but I felt somewhat of a pleasure in fitting midsections!  Where the joint interfered with the key button and/or balance hole the key button was removed for the repair and a support insert with balance hole if needed was installed on the bottom of the key.  The scarf joints also had one eighth inch+ hardwood dowel (can't remember exact dimension) installed perpendicular to the joint.  For the replacement wood I used sections of a set of (reject) Yamaha keys that I had in the shop.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ron, what do you have against my purple paper? <grin>  Works great as a photo backdrop for wood.  Great contrast without the light absorbing qualities of black which then fool the camera to over compensate exposure resulting in 'bleached-out' wood tones!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Garret, sorry that I can't seem to find the close-up pictures of the repairs.  They are here somewhere.  Which can be said of a lot of stuff.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Oh yeah, Terry, you may come across this piano.  I did the repair about 15 years ago.  At that time the piano was in Clearwater.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Debbie Legg</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>