Rippen Actions

[EBordeleau@aol.com]

Greetings from the Granite state!

I have a Lindner console piano, made in Ireland, with a Rippen action, made
in Holland.  According to the serial number it was made in the early 1960's.
 The Rippen action is of a very unconventional design and utilizes a lot of
plastic parts.

This piano has a problem with its keyboard.  The keys themselves are
constructed from  molded plastic (no wood at all!) and instead of a balance
rail pin, there is a flat piece of spring steel which is embedded in the
bottom of the key, and mounted on another plastic part that snaps into a
U-shaped channel that serves as the equivalent of a balance rail.  Those
parts that snap into the rail have a springy "tail" that locks them into the
rail, and it is those tails that are breaking due to the brittleness that the
plastic has developed.  Needless to say, this causes a real problem with key
"chucking" - its like having a floating balance pin, and the key can move
front to back a good 1/8".

I have been unable to find any supplier in the US who knows anything about
these actions or where to get service information, let alone replacement
parts.  I wrote to Rippen in Holland, using the address listed in the 1994
Music Trades Directory, but never recieved a reply.

Does anyone know where to find service information or parts for these
actions?  If not, does anyone have experience repairing these plastic parts,
or making up suitable replacements?  Theoretically I could just remove the
whole keyboard and replace it  with a conventional wood keyframe and
keyboard, but the time and expense would easily exceed the value of the
piano.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Ed Bordeleau
Pianoarts, Inc.
Hooksett, NH