At 12:33 -0400 20/4/10, Mike Morvan wrote: > I have not seen any maple used on vintage Steinways, they did have caps >on the top of the key and shoes on the bottoms of some models as you stated, >but the ones I have seen were all basswood. Basswood is harder than >sugarpine or spruce and is a hardwood, but a soft one at that. Ah basswood. Yes, a lot of English pianos had the keys entirely of basswood, which I believe came from Canada and was considered superior to lime, which has a tendency to warp. As I've said, the keys on Kirkmans are, I think, of lime and do not warp. Although lime is harder than basswood they still found it preferable to make an insert of harder wood for the balance hole. I thought it was maple but it may be hornbeam --I'll take a closer look. I took some pictures today but left the camera at the workshop. You will be interested to see them. >Good luck, balance holes are tricky to replace. Please be aware that >several of the methods of fixing balance holes that are available as kits >and some of the shimming methods mentioned, all fail to take into >consideration where the balance hole was originally. If the original >location of the balance hole is not determined prior to some type of repair, >than the key position can be off in relation to the pins and neighboring >keys. This will be visible and have regulation consequences. The great advantage of the tool Bruce mentioned is that it preserves the position of the original hole perfectly. The central guide pressed tightly into the hole so that the washer is centred accurately even in ovalized holes and there is no wobble. JD -- ______________________________________________________________________ Delacour Pianos * Silo * Deverel Farm * Milborne St. Andrew Dorset DT11 0HX * England Phone: +44 1202 731 031 Mobile: +44 7801 310 689 ______________________________________________________________________
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