<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" = xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" = xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" = xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" = xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=us-ascii"> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)"> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" = name="City"/> <o:SmartTagType = namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"/>  <style>  </style> </head> <body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=blue> <div class=Section1> May I = offer some words of encouragement to those struggling with replacement key covers?  This I do with nothing but sympathy in my heart.  I = well remember my early = struggles/mistakes/nightmares.<o:p></o:p> This = job is easy and fun.  Trust me.<o:p></o:p> First, = removing the old ivories or whatever is on there.  Don’t use a knife; = use a chisel and small hammer.  Place the key-tail against a bench dog = and chip gently away.  Save your fingernails.<o:p></o:p> Second, mill the top of the key.  Do this with a square-channel end-mill chucked = up in your drill press.  There may be less expensive tools.  But, = you’ll appreciate a drill press a million times over the years.  Get a = good end-mill, carbide-tipped, thirty bucks max.  (I don’t think = it’s been that long since I bought mine.)  Use a machinist vice clamped = onto the table of the drill press.  This is another of those odd tools = you’ll use many times, and love every time.  Not cheap, but not a = budget-buster.  Go slowly but smoothly, especially across the top edge of the = front.  Use [what machinists call] a climb cut across the front edge of the = key.  And do one key at a time.  The last step in milling is to scribe or = mark with a pencil, on the top of the key, that point where the rear end of the = new key cover will rest when it is firmly glued.  This mark will assure you = that you have milled far enough back on the key.  This mark will also = show you the point beyond which you should not apply any glue.  With key = covers glued in front of this mark, there should be just enough overhang of the = cover at the front end – an overhang equal to the thickness of the cover itself.  Lay all the natural keys on your bench with all the new = covers arranged on top of them in correct order.<o:p></o:p> Third, = glue the key-covers.  The 0.075” stuff is just fine.  Apply the = PVC glue [such as one can get from Schaff] with a small disposable brush on the = wooden surface only.  Do not apply the glue to the bottom of the = covers.  One thin coat on the wooden key is more than sufficient.  Glue one = key at a time.  Grasp one key cover by the edges with two fingers of each = hand.  Lay the tail end of the cover on the key, using the pencil mark as a guide.  Lay the entire key down gently on top of the wooden = key.  Hold it there for a few seconds; then, let go.  Tap the top of the key = cover three times lightly, with your knuckle; and, set the key aside to = dry.  With a clean finger, wipe off any excess glue that may have squeezed = out.  Do not clamp anything.  Make sure all your fingers are clean; and, = do it again.  Resist all temptation to inspect key-covers you just = glued.  Just leave them the hell alone for a day or two, or = three.<o:p></o:p> Fourth, notch the keys and finish the edges.  This is the time-consuming = part.  But it is also the final step.  Thus, this is the step where we = separate the adults from the children in this trade, and earn our money.  This = is the step to recall first, when you write the contract [i.e.: sell the job] = and pick up the parts to take to your shop.  Take the key-frame along with = all the keys.  You can’t properly notch the naturals unless they, and = all the sharps, are in the key-frame.  Get several maple wood or = aluminum blocks about half an inch thick and the size of your hand, with very sharp = [that is to say] square edges.  A mill shop or lumberyard will square these = cleanly for you; just ask.  To these affix several grits of sticky back sandpaper.  You might also use these new spongy sanding blocks that hardware stores now stock.  You might also find useful an old flat = bastard file [that’s really the correct name] with the edges ground = smooth.  This is all hand work.  Take your time; it won’t take that = much time.  Keep at it until you cannot feel the seam between the wood = [sides of the keys] and the plastic [edges of the covers] of every single = natural key.  For the very final procedure, use a razor blade of the type called a = utility blade, similar in size to the type used in old-fashioned safety = razors.  Hardware stores have these in boxes [usually] of a hundred.  Do not = think to round over the edges of the key-covers to a radius matching that on = those covers out-of-the-box.  By holding the blade edge against the edge = of the plastic, with the plane of the blade nearly perpendicular to the surface = of the plastic key-cover, draw the blade slowly along the edge of the plastic a half-dozen or fewer times until that edge is just softened, smoothed, = ever so slightly.  There, you’re done.<o:p></o:p> We = technicians are rightly proud of our skills.  But, pride aside, a technician = without good tools is nothing.  And, as a surgeon-client of mine said, = procedure is everything.  If you follow exactly the right procedure, with the = proper tools, it won’t be difficult to avoid nuisance-mistakes.  The = way to solve those mistakes is not to make them in the first place.  It = sounds trite; but it’s true.  And it’s easy, = too.<o:p></o:p> Ross = White<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <div> <a href="mailto:jrwhiteltd@msn.com">jrwhiteltd@msn.com</a><f= ont color=blue><o:p></o:p> (253) = 922-2372<o:p></o:p> </div> <div> <div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'> <hr size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1> </div> From: = pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of David Ilvedson Sent: Tuesday, August 30, = 2005 7:32 PM To: pianotech@ptg.org Subject: RE: Keytop = Botched Job?<o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p> </o:p> Find a Tap = Plastic or other plastic store...online if nothing else.  They sell several = different types of polishes for plastic and cleaners that will remove the = PVC-E. David Ilvedson <o:p></o:p> <div style='border:none;border-left:solid black 1.5pt;padding:0in 0in = 0in 3.0pt'> <div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'> <hr size=2 width="100%" align=center> </div> Original = message From: Matthew Todd <TODDPIANOWORKS@YAHOO.COM>To: Pianotech <PIANOTECH@PTG.ORG>Received: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 18:52:38 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Keytop Botched Job?<o:p></o:p> <div> <blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #1010FF = 1.5pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 3.0pt; margin-left:3.0pt;margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'> Hey all,<o:p></o:p> I actually did my first keytop replacement.  Not on a client's piano, = on my own practice piano.  I don't think I did too bad of a job except = for a few things.<o:p></o:p> First, the fronts of some of the keytops don't exactly line up.  Is there a regulatory technique to fix this?<o:p></o:p> AND, there are certain keytops that have MY fingerprints on them from the = PVC-E glue!  Can I remove this with something?  They are the darned = moulded tops, so I can't buff them.<o:p></o:p> Thanks guys, Matthew<o:p></o:p> </blockquote> </div> <div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'> <hr size=1 width="100%" align=center> </div> Yahoo! Mail for <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place = w:st="on">Mobile</st1:place></st1:City> <a = href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=31132/*http:/mobile.yahoo.com/learn/= mail">Take Yahoo! Mail with you!</a> Check email on your mobile phone. = <o:p></o:p> </div> </div> </body> </html>