key duplication - partial set

[Delwin D Fandrich]

You might also try Rick Wheeler, Roseland Piano, Milwaukee, Oregon.  Among
other things, he makes keysets, etc.  I don't have his phone number handy,
but he's in the directory.

Del

-------------------------------


----- Original Message -----
From: <bases-loaded@juno.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: February 28, 2000 3:34 PM
Subject: Re: key duplication - partial set


> Hi Clyde -
>
> Thanks for your reply.  I am certainly going to look into all options
> before giving up.  I perhaps am in a minority, but I have a fondness for
> the old uprights that doesn't always translate well in terms of economy.
> They evoke all kinds of nostalgic feelings -   parlors and old songs in
> turn of the century America that helped make the piano a household
> mainstay.  If there was a "golden age" of piano manufacturing, this would
> seem to be it, if only mythologically.  Certainly the casework is
> something we are not likely to see again, at the very least.  I like 'em,
> especially when they are still musical!
>
> I will try Schaff and Pianotek, etc., to be sure.  I can't see that water
> was the culprit here, but is is certainly possible.  The keys affected
> are not consecutive, there is no rust or hardened felt, and there are no
> signs of water stains.  There ARE signs of them being "mashed", as with a
> hammer, or.....
>
> the hooves of rhinoceroses?
>
> Mark Potter
> bases-loaded@juno.com
>
> On Mon, 28 Feb 2000 07:12:20 -0500 Clyde Hollinger <cedel@supernet.com>
> writes:
> > Mark,
> >
> > I considered Robin's response to you and I have a different opinion,
> > although
> > it is *only* an opinion; she may still be right.  You mentioned the
> > keys were
> > mangled beyond description, apparently by some other technician
> > attempting to
> > deal with the problem.  That may have been years ago.  If the
> > condition
> > hasn't changed in years, I think it is not likely to change now.  If
> > this is
> > true, having replacement keys made should be a long-term repair with
> > good
> > results.
> >
> > As to why this problem occurred, if they were all within one or 1
> > 1/2
> > octaves, I would think they got sopping wet somewhere along the
> > line.  That
> > still may be the case for the bass section.  Although I have very
> > limited
> > experience with keys that got wet, I seem to remember that some will
> > skew
> > more than others.  It would seem that other problems would surface
> > if this
> > were the case, such as swollen or missing key bushings and rusty key
> > pins.
> >
> > Now getting to your question; I don't know.  :-(  I would guess some
> > of the
> > major piano suppliers (Pianotek?  Schaff?) would do this for you if
> > they can
> > get enough information from the original keys to make new ones.
> > They may
> > even want you to send them the whole keyframe with the bass section
> > keys.  I
> > suspect it will be pricey; get an estimate so you and the owner can
> > decide if
> > it is worth the cost, if this is a mostly wornout old upright.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Clyde Hollinger
> >
> > P. S.  I seriously doubt you can blame rhinos!  <G>
> >
> > bases-loaded@juno.com wrote:
> >
> > > Hi List -
> > >
> > > Upon approaching a first-time customer's Ellington upright on
> > Friday, I
> > > stood and stared in disbelief at the keys in the bass.  Over the
> > phone
> > > she had said that her daughter was complaining about sticky keys.
> > What I
> > > saw was 10-12 keys, not consecutive, but all in the bass, that
> > were going
> > > 'every which way' but straight.  They were not a little crooked,
> > some
> > > were not even able to ride on their own front pin and were pushing
> > so
> > > hard on their neighbors that even keys a couple notes down were
> > > affected... kind of like a 10-car pile-up.
> > >
> > > When I opened up the case to gain access to the keys I could see
> > that
> > > some unexplainable event had taken place.  The only scenario I can
> > > conjure up is that at some time in the past a technician removed
> > the keys
> > > for some reason and a pack of rhinoceros' just happened to
> > stampede thru
> > > the room at that moment.  They were mangled beyond description,
> > and the
> > > oddest efforts had been made by some cowboy to cut large
> > triangular
> > > notches and glue hunks of wood into the sides of the keys to
> > "re-route"
> > > them into place - quite unsuccesfully, to be sure.
> > >
> > > My question is this.... does anyone know of a service that would
> > > remanufacture app. 12 keys?  The rest of the keys are fine, but
> > these 12
> > > are WAY beyond fixing.  Has anyone run into anything similar and
> > found a
> > > successful remedy?  I have replaced the stray key here and there
> > over the
> > > years, but with this many I thought it may be more feasible to
> > farm it
> > > out to an operation that specializes in this kind of work.
> > >
> > > Any leads would be greatly appreciated..
> > >
> > > Mark Potter
> > > bases-loaded@juno.com
> >