<!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 6.00.2900.2722" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>I think that when the key was reassembled to glue,
it wasn't lined up properly. So that, made the key,
pulley.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>The veneer on the sides would have been added
after it had been glued back together.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>Fix is remove veneer, break and reglue to the
proper length, and reinforce the sides.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial>Having said that, I don't know if it can be done,
getting it back right. Too bad the original repairer, hadn't been more
careful.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV>John M. Ross<BR>Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada<BR><A
href="mailto:jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca">jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca</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=Tvak@aol.com href="mailto:Tvak@aol.com">Tvak@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, September 28, 2005 8:32
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> key broken by two techs</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000
size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">List<BR>Got a call from a lady who said, 'her key
was broken'. Skeptical, I asked her about it, and she says that
two technicians have tried to fix this key and now it's worse than ever.
So, intrigued, I made an appointment to go look at it.<BR><BR>Turns out the
key itself did break and the previous technician spliced it back together with
splints on each side. Looked well done. Things is...it looks like
he ADDED a bit of wood between the two pieces of the key and now the key is
too long. It sticks out 1/16" past the others in front. I looked
at it from every which angle and it is definitely too long between the balance
rail pin and the front of the keytop. And there is definitely a piece of
contrasting wood between the two parts of the key. Unbelievably, it
looks like he put some wood inbetween, making the key
longer.<BR><BR>Why? Why would he do this? And when she pointed out
to him that it looked terrible, he said he couldn't do anything about it and
left. <BR><BR>Anyway, here are my two options for remedying this and I'd like
to hear pros, cons, or other alternatives.<BR><BR>#1: This key is a pulley key
anyway. Even when pushed all the way back, though, it's still 1/16" too
long. So...I could drill out the front rim of the balance rail hole,
making the front of the balance rail hole closer to the front. Then
treat it as a pulley key; saw a kerf and insert some veneer in the back of the
hole, effectively moving the balance rail hole forward 1/16" and therefore
moving the front of the key backward.<BR><BR>However this will also move the
capstan, backcheck and keyend felt back 1/16", too. So, my best option,
I think is:<BR><BR>#2: Get a handsaw, and saw the key in half, somewhere other
than where the splice is, but in front of the balance rail hole, and then glue
the two pieces back together. If I use a big old lumber saw, I should
lose a 1/16" just where the saw ate the wood up. Glue it back
together, and it's 1/16" shorter!<BR><BR>I'm not going to get two chances to
fix this. This key already has two splices in it (it has broken twice in
two different places). It's a dogleg key with a notch cut out of
it for the glide bolt, so structurally it's the weakest key you could
imagine. The piano is a THE HAMILTON grand. (That's what it says,
THE HAMILTON.)<BR><BR>At this point, it's a matter of pride that I be able to
fix this key that two other techs screwed up. And...I told her in
addition to my hourly rate, my fee would include knowing who this other
technician was. But only if I were able to fix the key. If not,
she could tell my name to the guy who did fix it!<BR><BR>I guess a third
option would be moving the balance rail pin back 1/16", but that also would
move the capstan, etc. back, so I still think the saw is the best
alternative.<BR><BR>Any thoughts, advice, flames? <BR><BR>Tom
Sivak<BR>Chicago</FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"></FONT> </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>