Hi Terry:
It appears that the damaged area could be replicated on a lathe, using the good leg as a pattern. You could saw off the damaged part and then attach the remade piece to the lower leg. There's usually not a lot of pressure on the front legs, so a stout dowel could suffice to join them. The remaining leg remnant under the keybed could just be removed with a chisel or whatever. A dowel would also work to reattach the repaired leg, or use the lathe to create a stud that would fit in the hole under the keybed.
Got lathe?
Just an idea..
Paul McCloud
San Diego
Terrence Farrell
Looking for any bright ideas on how to repair a front let on a Samick console.
Clearly, a lovely repair was done sometime in the past. Focusing on the top of the leg where the break occurred, the other, undamaged, leg (which BTW is VERY secure) is actually about a half-inch taller - the break did not occur at the very top of the let - actually about a half-inch down. So there is the top-most half-inch of leg still very firmly attached to the underside of the keybed. The break surfaces are VERY uneven. The screw hole is stripped.
I'm thinking remove the screw from the leg in the picture, flatten and square break surface (I have a 12" rotating disk sander with guides), drill hole for maybe 1/2" hardwood dowel into top of leg (centered) and glue in place - Titebond should suffice with a close-fitting dowel. When I go back to piano, flatten break surface (geezzz, with what? maybe super-coarse sandpaper glued to flat wood? chisel first? or maybe JUST chisel? - I'd like to use a belt sander, but this thing is in the living room), drill oversize hole, bond in place with two-step West System epoxy thickened to medium-thick. Then add super thick epoxy to break surfaces and insert leg. Tilt piano back an inch or so to allow leg insertion and then use caster cups blocked on both front legs so that leg and be adjusted straight and to same length as other leg. Keep in mind that after flattening break surfaces, the repaired leg (before installation) will be a tad shorter than the other leg - so there will be a 1/4" (or whatever) length of the leg at the break that will be epoxy fill. Can color epoxy after it hardens. Or I could cut some circular wood inserts to fill that gap - or at least mostly fill the gap - and epoxy those in place.
I think my plan will produce a very strong repair.
I could go with the original approach. Install new screw - maybe a larger one, clean & flatten break surfaces, install appropriate thickness wooden circle to fill gap and make both legs same length, glue (if surfaces mate VERY well) or epoxy break and circle filler surfaces. That might be a tad easier.
I really wonder how to clean/flatten and square break surface on keybed bottom. Remember that it protrudes 1/4" to 1/2" from keybed bottom - that makes it easier to access perhaps, but harder to cut the surface down to a plane parallel with the keybed bottom.
Maybe there are better ideas. Maybe there are easier as-good repairs. Anyone got one?
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Terry Farrell
Farrell Piano Service, Inc.
Brandon, Florida
terry@farrellpiano.com813-684-3505
Original Message:
Sent: 6/21/2021 8:46:00 AM
From: Terrence Farrell
Subject: Leg Repair
Looking for any bright ideas on how to repair a front let on a Samick console.
Clearly, a lovely repair was done sometime in the past. Focusing on the top of the leg where the break occurred, the other, undamaged, leg (which BTW is VERY secure) is actually about a half-inch taller - the break did not occur at the very top of the let - actually about a half-inch down. So there is the top-most half-inch of leg still very firmly attached to the underside of the keybed. The break surfaces are VERY uneven. The screw hole is stripped.
I'm thinking remove the screw from the leg in the picture, flatten and square break surface (I have a 12" rotating disk sander with guides), drill hole for maybe 1/2" hardwood dowel into top of leg (centered) and glue in place - Titebond should suffice with a close-fitting dowel. When I go back to piano, flatten break surface (geezzz, with what? maybe super-coarse sandpaper glued to flat wood? chisel first? or maybe JUST chisel? - I'd like to use a belt sander, but this thing is in the living room), drill oversize hole, bond in place with two-step West System epoxy thickened to medium-thick. Then add super thick epoxy to break surfaces and insert leg. Tilt piano back an inch or so to allow leg insertion and then use caster cups blocked on both front legs so that leg and be adjusted straight and to same length as other leg. Keep in mind that after flattening break surfaces, the repaired leg (before installation) will be a tad shorter than the other leg - so there will be a 1/4" (or whatever) length of the leg at the break that will be epoxy fill. Can color epoxy after it hardens. Or I could cut some circular wood inserts to fill that gap - or at least mostly fill the gap - and epoxy those in place.
I think my plan will produce a very strong repair.
I could go with the original approach. Install new screw - maybe a larger one, clean & flatten break surfaces, install appropriate thickness wooden circle to fill gap and make both legs same length, glue (if surfaces mate VERY well) or epoxy break and circle filler surfaces. That might be a tad easier.
I really wonder how to clean/flatten and square break surface on keybed bottom. Remember that it protrudes 1/4" to 1/2" from keybed bottom - that makes it easier to access perhaps, but harder to cut the surface down to a plane parallel with the keybed bottom.
Maybe there are better ideas. Maybe there are easier as-good repairs. Anyone got one?
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Terry Farrell
Farrell Piano Service, Inc.
Brandon, Florida
terry@farrellpiano.com
813-684-3505
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