Removing Ivory Keytops
By Larry Lobel
Marc Finlen asked about removing ivory key tops. Here's how I do it:
* Place a hot iron on the keytop with a piece of thin cloth between the key and the iron (this is just to prevent the keys from yellowing, if you want to use them for replacements in other pianos). If it's a steam iron, make sure there's no water in it and the steam setting is turned off; steam makes the glue too sticky.
* Hold the iron on the keytop for 15 to 30 seconds (this will vary with each piano, depending on different glues, age of piano, etc.)
* Remove iron and cloth, and with a thin-bladed tool like a putty knife. Insert the blade under the overhang of ivory at the front of the key. Holding the blade level, gently slide it under the wafer using a back and forth rocking motion. Don't use a lot of force; this could break the ivory and it might take some wood from the key with it. If you slide it, keeping it parallel to the keytop, the ivory will slip off, taking no wood with it.
After the front slips off, you may need to re-heat the tail piece again to soften the glue. Then you can slip your knife in from either end, slide the blade in and out, side to side, and the tail will slip off as the front piece did. Good luck!
Larry Lobel
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(Message sent Mon 10 Mar 1997, 16:20:18 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.) |
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