ivory and bone keytops

[MICHAEL MORVAN]

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Terry,
    Ivory and bone are natural materials. My experience in applying new =
ivory and bone as well as restoring factory applied ivory and bone is =
this. Ivory is translucent (slightly see-thru) and a linen wafer =
underneath makes it appear white. Bone is less translucent and remains =
an off-white in appearance even with a linen wafer. I have seen bone =
keytop material as white as ivory but it was from a German company and =
they wont sell to me. Grain varies widely in ivory depending on the =
"cut" it can be straight, wavy or the flame-point or fingerprint pattern =
we all know and love. Bone has grain but it is usually straight or =
non-existent. Both are hard, tricky to machine and hold an edge and buff =
well. Ivory has very tight pores and bone is more porous, and if not =
surfaced properly will be very evident. Ivory and bone will both become =
dirty if the pores are not saturated with compound from buffing. This =
brings up a good point, buffing serves a few purposes. Buffing saturates =
the pores with wax or compound and seals them,  this keeps dirt and =
moisture out, buffing also improves the appearance of ivory, bone, and =
plastic by smoothing and making the surface flat and in turn it will =
reflect more light and be visually more appealing. Buffing ivory and =
bone at required intervals will prolong there life by preventing the =
elements from disintegrating them. Both ivory and bone are vulnerable to =
environmental changes (temperature and humidity). For example place an =
ivory head in a moist face-cloth overnight and then look at it in the =
morning, you'll be surprised to see the change in dimension and =
consistency. Both ivory and bone will darken in color over time and I =
think bone appears to darken faster and it may only be because the =
material is darker to begin with, not necessarily it's composition. As =
far as feel, ivory and bone both grip your fingers, wick-off moisture, =
and are less slippery than plastic. Ivory and bone are both very durable =
if maintained properly. I have a 1860's square grand in my shop with a =
wonderful set of original ivory. New ivory (legal pre-ban) and bone are =
readily available. Ivory is more expensive and preferred but a lot of =
people accept bone as a nice alternative to ivory.
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Terry=20
  To: Pianotech=20
  Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 7:45 AM
  Subject: Re: Moulded Keytops


  What can you say about comparing and contrasting bone and ivory =
(color, grain, feel, durability, etc.)? I've heard that bone is more =
porous and gets dirtier more easily. Please educate us!

  Terry Farrell

        I apply keytops for a living and there are several factors to =
consider when choosing a top. The quality of the keytop, quality of the =
piano, quality of the rebuild, preference of the customer, knowledge and =
preference of the technician and budget. Crappy "molded" keytops are =
nice if applied properly, and three thousand dollars worth of new ivory =
is "crappy" if not applied properly. Molded keytops have the advantage =
of being inexpensive, uniform in shape and appearance, and relatively =
easy to apply with minimal skill, tooling and yields fair results.  A =
disadvantage is that many people feel that they are a cheap top and as a =
result do not use them. Other materials ivory, bone and the variety of =
plastics are usually in a slab or oversize form and require more skill, =
tooling and money. In addition when you go from a molded keytop with =
fronts attached to a keytop without a front attached you double your =
workload. Vagias is a simulated ivory top made of plastic and I've found =
that people either like it or don't there is no in between. Ivorine =
(pyralin) is still around and preferred to acrylics because of the =
plastics available it feels similar to ivory. New ivory and bone are =
available and preferred by most but are costly and not always in the =
budget.
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