Hi, Terry, When I started this stuff, I inherited a nearly full 5x5x24" box of miscellaneous ivory heads from junk pianos and keytop replacement jobs. After the first few exasperating attempts even to find replacements suitable to a note, I sorted them by note and figure in a couple QRS Pianomation plastic compartment boxes (I'd sort them by length, too if I had more of these handy boxes). Usually I have about 200 that I use for replacing 1-5 missing heads (depending on brand, up to 12), with great success in matching. Now, I strip both ivory heads and tails. When there are more than about 25 fairly intact heads to a set I tape the pairs together and sort them note-wise (less, and I sort heads into the boxes, and bag the tails as sets) - even chipped ivory can be used for replacements using the AcryliKey kit. I used just to charge $10 for each head; depending on the number of suitable matches per length, this can double. Personally, I dislike plastic keytops and wouldn't install them on pre-1890s instruments, but the cost of replacing ivory quickly intersects the cost of new plastic. It's a good idea to clean the joining ivory sections, head and tail - hot water scrubbed on with a bristle brush works well, and gives a much better appearance (sometimes better than their neighbors). This also works on dirt that accumulates on the key or wafer. For rubber cement, I find heat and moisture softens the crap sufficiently to scrape the remaining stuff clear off. Another good idea is to check whether any more heads are loose. A quick check is to pry lightly at each corner of a head and see if it lifts. Check tails, too - if they're loose at the back they can click on return, loose at the front they may click when played. I never replace ivory in a customer's home, and I always use hot hide glue to affix them, with hot cauls and ivory clamps. Titanium Dioxide whiting is available from supply houses for those cases when it's appropriate. I prefer not to use supply house wafers - I've had mixed results with them, and they're easy to make with white rags selected according to thickness. Hope this helps, Clark
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