New Bushings Or New Keys?

[Frank H. Weeden]

My friendly technician is going to be making a
visit pretty soon, since my old 1917 upright needs
a tuning. It's in sad need of new bushings in the
keys, but the last time I checked, that was a $200
job. The keys in this upright are not the original
ivory keys. Somewhere along the line, someone
replaced them with plastic, so I'm wondering if it
would be more economical to get a new set of keys...

Also, are the keys between one upright and another
interchangable? If they aren't, then it renders
the question of new keys moot.

Thanks,
-Frank

[Eric Gloo]

Frank wrote:

>...The keys in this upright are not the

>original ivory keys. Somewhere along the
>line, someone replaced them with
>plastic, so I'm wondering if it would be
>more economical to get a new set of
>keys...

>Also, are the keys between one upright
>and another interchangable? If they
>aren't, then it renders the question of
>new keys moot.

No, piano keys are not interchangable. Get the new bushings.

Eric Gloo
Piano Technician

[Frank H. Weeden]

Eric Gloo wrote:
>
> No, piano keys are not interchangable. Get the new bushings.

Thanks, Eric. The keys are going to need to be repaired, then.
In a lot of the square holes in the keys, the wood is either
cracked or non-existent. Necessity being the mother of invention,
I'll start fixing the keys that are shot. I have a nice bandsaw
and a lot of scrap stock, so I can probably cut strips to overlay
the area around the bushings and then mortise out the square
holes, after making a template from a good key... I don't know
which I enjoy more: Playing the piano or working on it. :)

-Frank