Moulded Keytops

[Joe Garrett]

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Michael Morvan said: "The quality of the keytop, quality of the =3D
piano, quality of the rebuild, preference of the customer, knowledge and =
=3D
preference of the technician and budget. Crappy "molded" keytops are =3D
nice if applied properly, and three thousand dollars worth of new ivory =
=3D
is "crappy" if not applied properly. Molded keytops have the advantage =
=3D
of being inexpensive, uniform in shape and appearance, and relatively =
=3D
easy to apply with minimal skill, tooling and yields fair results.  A =
=3D
disadvantage is that many people feel that they are a cheap top and as a =
=3D
result do not use them."
Michael,
What you've said, I agree with. However, it's what you didn't say about =
moulded keytops that concerns me.
1. Moulded keytops assumes that all key sets are the same dimension, =
which they are not. Therefore, trimming is necessary. Here lies the rub, =
as trimming of moulded keytop material is far more difficult than other =
materials. Especially in making the key set look consistant and have a =
smooth feel under the players hands. Secondly, if you've ever had to =
(try) to buff out scratches of moulded key top material, (and I'm sure =
you have, if you do keytops for a living.), it's next to impossible, as =
the material is too soft and will "burn/gaul" when even light pressure =
on a buffing wheel is applied. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it's =
a royal pain in the patoot to do!<G> Lastly, my aversion to moulded =
keytops is that it is too thick, especially for many older pianos with =
tight tolerances of the piano furniture. This requires milling the =
keystick down. I am totally averse to this practice for many reasons. =
Some of the "moulded keytop material" from Europe is better as some of =
it is what we call "Plexiglass". This material can be sanded and buffed. =
It's still too thick for my eye.<G> I too do keytops, but as only part =
of my overall service to my clients. I used to have someone else do it, =
as I really don't like the stink in my shop. Out of frustration with =
others I've taken to doing it....stink or not.<G>
Regards,
Joe Garrett, R.P.T.
Captain, Tool Police
Squares R I
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