Pianotech

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

Ryan,

Assuming the head needs to be replaced, the fundamental problem is matching a replacement to the adjacent ivories. After, 50 years of keytop replacement I do have a rather large selection of Steinway ivory. Steinway ivory heads are longer than the typical heads. This limits the availability of replacement resources. I may have a "match" but I would need to examine an adjacent ivory to verify. If nobody steps up, you may contact me as a backup.

Roger

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

Ryan,

Assuming the head needs to be replaced, the fundamental problem is matching a replacement to the adjacent ivories. After, 50 years of keytop replacement I do have a rather large selection of Steinway ivory. Steinway ivory heads are longer than the typical heads. This limits the availability of replacement resources. I may have a "match" but I would need to examine an adjacent ivory to verify. If nobody steps up, you may contact me as a backup.

Roger

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

That is very kind of you Roger! I might have one as well, but I have to admit my ivory collection is very disorganized. The biggest challenge I've encountered is the joint. If I'm working with a detached ivory and can glue the original back in place I have pretty good luck not having the joint be too visible. However, I've not had great luck with recycled ivory. The joint is  always noticeable. Then it becomes a toss up between a fill and replacement - most often I go with the fill and try to mitigate clients' expectations.

Here's a picture. The repair I did was to glue back in a chip and then sand it flush so it feels smooth. It doesn't look bad, but it is noticeable to the client and they were curious if it could be replaced. I said yes, BUT...what are the odds a replacement will look better than the repair?

Ryan,

Assuming the head needs to be replaced, the fundamental problem is matching a replacement to the adjacent ivories. After, 50 years of keytop replacement I do have a rather large selection of Steinway ivory. Steinway ivory heads are longer than the typical heads. This limits the availability of replacement resources. I may have a "match" but I would need to examine an adjacent ivory to verify. If nobody steps up, you may contact me as a backup.

Roger

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

Ryan, when you smooth the back edge of the replacement head do not make it 90°. Angle so only the top fits the tail.

That is very kind of you Roger! I might have one as well, but I have to admit my ivory collection is very disorganized. The biggest challenge I've encountered is the joint. If I'm working with a detached ivory and can glue the original back in place I have pretty good luck not having the joint be too visible. However, I've not had great luck with recycled ivory. The joint is  always noticeable. Then it becomes a toss up between a fill and replacement - most often I go with the fill and try to mitigate clients' expectations.

Here's a picture. The repair I did was to glue back in a chip and then sand it flush so it feels smooth. It doesn't look bad, but it is noticeable to the client and they were curious if it could be replaced. I said yes, BUT...what are the odds a replacement will look better than the repair?

Ryan,

Assuming the head needs to be replaced, the fundamental problem is matching a replacement to the adjacent ivories. After, 50 years of keytop replacement I do have a rather large selection of Steinway ivory. Steinway ivory heads are longer than the typical heads. This limits the availability of replacement resources. I may have a "match" but I would need to examine an adjacent ivory to verify. If nobody steps up, you may contact me as a backup.

Roger

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

I have not had luck with Acrylic - too soft.  You need a large collection of heads and tails to get a good match.  A long time ago Frank Stopa showed me a milling cutter

that Pratt Read used for jointing.  You can use a small mill and a face mill to do this. For fills use dental epoxy.

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

You're almost always better off using Acrylikey and working carefully to get the color right.  Beveling the receiving area of the fill hides the seam pretty well (better than gluing back on a chip) and you can polish the fill to the sheen you want.  The problem with replacing the ivory is having a replacement piece that not only matches color but translucency and grain.  So if it's a small chip I have found that repairing is almost always better.  That being said, if you found someone who has an extensive collection of ivory that could match it well and also install the new head so that the seam between head and tail doesn't show then that would be great.  That's pretty hard to do though as the factory method to get that seem invisible is very difficult to duplicate even if you are able to get head and tail on the same plane such that you can't feel the seem (a must).  

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

The problem with Acrylikey is that it is too soft.  Dental epoxy is better.  A replacement ivory is best.

You're almost always better off using Acrylikey and working carefully to get the color right.  Beveling the receiving area of the fill hides the seam pretty well (better than gluing back on a chip) and you can polish the fill to the sheen you want.  The problem with replacing the ivory is having a replacement piece that not only matches color but translucency and grain.  So if it's a small chip I have found that repairing is almost always better.  That being said, if you found someone who has an extensive collection of ivory that could match it well and also install the new head so that the seam between head and tail doesn't show then that would be great.  That's pretty hard to do though as the factory method to get that seem invisible is very difficult to duplicate even if you are able to get head and tail on the same plane such that you can't feel the seem (a must).  

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

The problem with Acrylikey is that it is too soft.  Dental epoxy is better.  A replacement ivory is best.

You're almost always better off using Acrylikey and working carefully to get the color right.  Beveling the receiving area of the fill hides the seam pretty well (better than gluing back on a chip) and you can polish the fill to the sheen you want.  The problem with replacing the ivory is having a replacement piece that not only matches color but translucency and grain.  So if it's a small chip I have found that repairing is almost always better.  That being said, if you found someone who has an extensive collection of ivory that could match it well and also install the new head so that the seam between head and tail doesn't show then that would be great.  That's pretty hard to do though as the factory method to get that seem invisible is very difficult to duplicate even if you are able to get head and tail on the same plane such that you can't feel the seem (a must).  

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

The problem with Acrylikey is that it is too soft.  Dental epoxy is better.  A replacement ivory is best.

------------------------------
Parker Leigh RPT
Winchester VA
(540) 722-3865

Original Message:
Sent: 02-04-2025 02:27
From: David Love
Subject: Who does flawless ivory repair?

You're almost always better off using Acrylikey and working carefully to get the color right.  Beveling the receiving area of the fill hides the seam pretty well (better than gluing back on a chip) and you can polish the fill to the sheen you want.  The problem with replacing the ivory is having a replacement piece that not only matches color but translucency and grain.  So if it's a small chip I have found that repairing is almost always better.  That being said, if you found someone who has an extensive collection of ivory that could match it well and also install the new head so that the seam between head and tail doesn't show then that would be great.  That's pretty hard to do though as the factory method to get that seem invisible is very difficult to duplicate even if you are able to get head and tail on the same plane such that you can't feel the seem (a must).  

------------------------------
David Love RPT
www.davidlovepianos.com
davidlovepianos@comcast.net
415 407 8320

Original Message:
Sent: 02-03-2025 15:43
From: Ryan Sowers
Subject: Who does flawless ivory repair?

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

------------------------------
Ryan Sowers RPT
Olympia WA
(360) 480-5648
------------------------------

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

Ryan,

I believe all the entries about this subject are correct. After seeing your photo, anybody who tries to "repair" your client's key will probably dig themselves into an irretractable hole. I hereby retract my offer to tackle that repair.

Roger

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

Ryan, I do flawless keytop restoration and replacement. If you have the pieces that have fallen off or if you have spares I can glue them back on for you. Most people will send the pieces that have fallen off to me with the rest of the keyboard and frame. Then i can clean all the keysticks and ivory, reglue any loose tops or fronts with hot hide glue, resurface, and buff. this will make the keyboard look new again. If that does not work for you we have the highest quality bone available as a 1 or 2 piece top, cast acrylic plastic in pure white, ivory colored, and cream colored, mineral plastic or "Tharan" in pure white, ivory color, or cream colored. Give me a call if you have any questions. Michael Morvan

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

This is valuable information, Michael. I will se if this client wants to go throught the trouble. I also just received an email from a new client who has ivories that need repair. You may be hearing form me in the not-to-distant future!

Ryan

------------------------------
Ryan Sowers RPT
Olympia WA
(360) 480-5648

Original Message:
Sent: 02-04-2025 13:13
From: Michael Morvan
Subject: Who does flawless ivory repair?

Ryan, I do flawless keytop restoration and replacement. If you have the pieces that have fallen off or if you have spares I can glue them back on for you. Most people will send the pieces that have fallen off to me with the rest of the keyboard and frame. Then i can clean all the keysticks and ivory, reglue any loose tops or fronts with hot hide glue, resurface, and buff. this will make the keyboard look new again. If that does not work for you we have the highest quality bone available as a 1 or 2 piece top, cast acrylic plastic in pure white, ivory colored, and cream colored, mineral plastic or "Tharan" in pure white, ivory color, or cream colored. Give me a call if you have any questions. Michael Morvan

------------------------------
[Michael] [Morvan]
[Blackstone Valley Piano]
michaelmorvan9@gmail.com

[Uxbridge] [MA] 01569
[508-340-6443]

Original Message:
Sent: 02-03-2025 15:43
From: Ryan Sowers
Subject: Who does flawless ivory repair?

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

------------------------------
Ryan Sowers RPT
Olympia WA
(360) 480-5648
------------------------------

I can vouch for Michael's work.  You won't be sorry. In fact he's the only one I would trust in  an instance like this.

Peter Grey Piano Doctor 

------------------------------
Peter Grey
Stratham NH
(603) 686-2395
pianodoctor57@gmail.com

Original Message:
Sent: 02-05-2025 17:59
From: Ryan Sowers
Subject: Who does flawless ivory repair?

This is valuable information, Michael. I will se if this client wants to go throught the trouble. I also just received an email from a new client who has ivories that need repair. You may be hearing form me in the not-to-distant future!

Ryan

------------------------------
Ryan Sowers RPT
Olympia WA
(360) 480-5648

Original Message:
Sent: 02-04-2025 13:13
From: Michael Morvan
Subject: Who does flawless ivory repair?

Ryan, I do flawless keytop restoration and replacement. If you have the pieces that have fallen off or if you have spares I can glue them back on for you. Most people will send the pieces that have fallen off to me with the rest of the keyboard and frame. Then i can clean all the keysticks and ivory, reglue any loose tops or fronts with hot hide glue, resurface, and buff. this will make the keyboard look new again. If that does not work for you we have the highest quality bone available as a 1 or 2 piece top, cast acrylic plastic in pure white, ivory colored, and cream colored, mineral plastic or "Tharan" in pure white, ivory color, or cream colored. Give me a call if you have any questions. Michael Morvan

------------------------------
[Michael] [Morvan]
[Blackstone Valley Piano]
michaelmorvan9@gmail.com

[Uxbridge] [MA] 01569
[508-340-6443]

Original Message:
Sent: 02-03-2025 15:43
From: Ryan Sowers
Subject: Who does flawless ivory repair?

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

------------------------------
Ryan Sowers RPT
Olympia WA
(360) 480-5648
------------------------------

Thank you Peter for your kind words. After reading everyone's responses I would like to pass on a few things. It is illegal to sell ivory, it is not illegal to reattach, clean, and buff an existing keyboard. That is a service that can still be offered to a client and still should be offered to a client. I make money replacing original ivory on keyboards, but I would not recommend doing so if the original keyboard can be restored legally. This is the service of an existing product or keyboard, not a sale. Fortunately, a lot of the keytops when they fall off, fall in between the keys and can be retrieved and put back on. Furthermore, most professional players still prefer to play on ivory, bone, and ebony, I still field many calls a month asking for it. Ivory, ebony, and bone are natural materials, natural materials grip your fingers, natural materials are cool to the touch, natural materials wick-off moisture, these are the three coveted properties of natural materials pertaining to keytops. When F&W banned the sale of new (pre-ban) ivory it nearly put me out of business. The application of that new (pre-ban) ivory and bone represented the majority of my business, It is now illegal to offer ivory, the industry was in shock, the industry was scared, and I knew that it would take years for the dust to settle. I had the best alternatives, I had bone, I had mineral plastic, I had acrylic plastic, but the industry/profession would never be the same. Here we are, how many years later trying to repair ivory with dental kits, acryli-key, and other materials, why? Because most still prefer to keep the instrument authentic, and most still prefer the feel of natural materials over synthetic materials. Fortunately for the musicians and rebuilders, the bone suppliers have significantly improved the quality of their keytops. The quality of bone now matches that of the new (pre-ban) ivory I used to apply. Bone is now the only natural material besides hardwoods available as an option for natural keytops. Bone is the only new natural material available if a client wants an original-styled keytop with all the properties of ivory, keep an open mind, we adapted to the last change we can adapt to this one.

I can vouch for Michael's work.  You won't be sorry. In fact he's the only one I would trust in  an instance like this.

Peter Grey Piano Doctor 

------------------------------
Peter Grey
Stratham NH
(603) 686-2395
pianodoctor57@gmail.com

Original Message:
Sent: 02-05-2025 17:59
From: Ryan Sowers
Subject: Who does flawless ivory repair?

This is valuable information, Michael. I will se if this client wants to go throught the trouble. I also just received an email from a new client who has ivories that need repair. You may be hearing form me in the not-to-distant future!

Ryan

------------------------------
Ryan Sowers RPT
Olympia WA
(360) 480-5648

Original Message:
Sent: 02-04-2025 13:13
From: Michael Morvan
Subject: Who does flawless ivory repair?

Ryan, I do flawless keytop restoration and replacement. If you have the pieces that have fallen off or if you have spares I can glue them back on for you. Most people will send the pieces that have fallen off to me with the rest of the keyboard and frame. Then i can clean all the keysticks and ivory, reglue any loose tops or fronts with hot hide glue, resurface, and buff. this will make the keyboard look new again. If that does not work for you we have the highest quality bone available as a 1 or 2 piece top, cast acrylic plastic in pure white, ivory colored, and cream colored, mineral plastic or "Tharan" in pure white, ivory color, or cream colored. Give me a call if you have any questions. Michael Morvan

------------------------------
[Michael] [Morvan]
[Blackstone Valley Piano]
michaelmorvan9@gmail.com

[Uxbridge] [MA] 01569
[508-340-6443]

Original Message:
Sent: 02-03-2025 15:43
From: Ryan Sowers
Subject: Who does flawless ivory repair?

Hello all,

Does anyone know where I could send a clients Steinway key for a flawless repair? I've had good luck with filling chips, but they always show to some extent. The client is wondering if it is possibe to replace the damaged ivory. I've done it many times, but I have not had great sucess with "invisible" repairs. They always look "pretty good". 

Who is doing "high end" repairs on ivory?

------------------------------
Ryan Sowers RPT
Olympia WA
(360) 480-5648
------------------------------