---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment Doug asked why keys break at the balance rail. Hard playing on a weak key is only a partial answer. Last month I was called to repair a cheapie spinet with seven broken keys. The piano had been repaired in the past by someone else with thick CA glue on the sides, and thin CA soaked into the wood, but the keys simply failed again next to the glue joint. The keys were cut across the grain, and there was simply not enough strength to do the job, which is problem number one. The real problem in this case, though, was that a prior tech had shimmed up the balance rail to improve the regulation (more dip, more aftertouch, less hammer burbling), but went way too far. I found three thick front rail card punchings and a few business cards under the balance rail. The action was going through escapement, the jack was jamming, and the key stopped moving before it ever got near the front rail punchings. The action had a very strange feel, and the stress on the key was much more than it should have had to take, even if it was a good quality key (which it wasn't). In addition to repairing the broken and soon-to-break keys with veneer, I also lowered the balance rail to where it belonged, treating the illness, not just the symptom. Check your keydip and aftertouch. Another tip: I tack glued the keys back together (in my shop) to get them aligned correctly, then sanded the sides near the break with a random orbit sander to get off the old CA glue, smooth the sides for good glue prep, and thin the key >slightly<. I glued the veneer splints on each side with Titebond, then used my soldering iron with hammer pressing tip to iron on the veneer. Very nice results. I used the sander again to taper off the ends of the veneer, which was slightly concave from the first sanding. Fit was great, with just a little sanding by hand on one key in the customer's home. The "rule of 6" strikes again. If one key breaks, well... it happens. If 6 or more break, something is causing it. Greg Graham Graham Piano Service Brodheadsville, PA --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term' ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/7b/12/90/2c/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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