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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Looking for a little help on a keytop job for my
Wing&Son upright project:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>This is only my second keytop job, so I am pretty
low in the learning curve, but did learn a lot from the first job on an old
Merrifield upright. Don't worry, these jobs are both unpaid, learning
projects. But the Wing&Son deserves probably more than my
best effort. Great old piano, which will be a gift for my sister when
completed. The old ivory key heads were all missing, so I removed the key
tails, routed down the entire surface using a Genesis jig (thanks Rick Snelson),
so that the thicker new keytops won't make the keys taller. Fronts
were all good shape, so just cleaned up and buffed them (ivory). Got
Vagius Satin Ivory one-piece keytops which match the ivory fronts. Used
PVC-E glue and clamped with rubber bands and scuba weights. Keytops in
the front part are all almost exactly the right width and lined up as
well as I know how. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Here is my question: The keytop TAILS
are generally lined up perfectly on one side but some overhang the key just a
bit on the other side (generally on the right side of C's and G's, for example,
in the tail area.) They all fit nicelyhowever, when installed with
the sharps back in the piano. <STRONG>Is it more important to have the
keytops sides trimmed exactly even with the key wood, even if the keys fit
nicely together and the cracks between them are straight and even before
trimming?</STRONG> Some of the old keys have worn and been sanded perhaps
to the point that making the keytops exactly fit the key would probablymake the
resulting job look worse. It seems to be that the appearance of the final
product is the KEY, so to speak, as long as any overhang of the keytop doesn't
cause chipping or other failure problems, and as long as the tail widths dont
create interferrence when installed.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I would appreciate any comments, both on my
question, or on the overall job I described. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dave Smith</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>SW FL</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>