<HTML><HTML>List Got a call from a lady who said, 'her key was broken'.   Skeptica= l, 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 appo= intment to go look at it. Turns out the key itself did break and the previous technician spliced it ba= ck together with splints on each side.  Looked well done.  Thing= s is...it looks like he ADDED a bit of wood between the two pieces of the ke= y 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 to= o 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. Why?  Why would he do this?  And when she pointed out to him tha= t it looked terrible, he said he couldn't do anything about it and left. <BR= > Anyway, here are my two options for remedying this and I'd like to hear pros= , cons, or other alternatives. #1: This key is a pulley key anyway.  Even when pushed all the way bac= k, though, it's still 1/16" too long.  So...I could drill out the fron= t rim of the balance rail hole, making the front of the balance rail hole cl= oser to the front.  Then treat it as a pulley key; saw a kerf and inse= rt 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. However this will also move the capstan, backcheck and keyend felt back 1/16= ", too.  So, my best option, I think is: #2: Get a handsaw, and saw the key in half, somewhere other than where the s= plice is, but in front of the balance rail hole, and then glue the two piece= s 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! I'm not going to get two chances to fix this.  This key already has tw= o 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 structur= ally it's the weakest key you could imagine.  The piano is a THE HAMIL= TON grand.  (That's what it says, THE HAMILTON.) At this point, it's a matter of pride that I be able to fix this key that tw= o other techs screwed up.  And...I told her in addition to my hourly r= ate, 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! 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. Any thoughts, advice, flames?  Tom Sivak Chicago</HTML>