replacing balance rail pins

Started by active, June 08, 2013, 09:41:55 PM

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active

hey all!

so i recently got a free rhodes mkI (the joys of people who are too afraid to fix things on their own!) and i started to refurbish this beast. it's a mkI suitcase, and the big problem is that some of the keys stick when pressed down. The key section sat out in someones garage in Rhode Island for about 4 years so there is a LOT of rust all over the place, but mostly my friend and I believe it is the rust on the balance rail pins that are creating the problem. I have a source for new pins, my question is what is the best way to remove and replace the pins? a pair of pliers and pulling straight up work? or is it more like pulling up the whole balance rail and removing the pins that way? anyone have words of advice? thanks so much!

David Aubke

After reading a very cautionary post from sean about guide pins, I made a tool for pressing them in and out of the keyframe.


I modified a six-penny finish nail and the desk clamp that came with my swing-arm workbench light. The holes for the guide pins are (mostly) drilled clear through the keyframe so you can push the old pins out from behind.



The tool can be reversed to press the new pins back in.

It worked great everywhere except over the center keyframe brace but it was slow and tedious. Later, I tried a pair of pliers and found they worked just fine. I was also replacing rusted pins and since I didn't care about the old ones, I just grabbed them with the unprotected jaws of the pliers. I was able to start the new pins by hand then tap them the rest of the way with a small hammer. The front guide pins have a slightly squared bottom but the balance pins are rounded at both ends. This seemed to help them follow the existing holes and I really had no problems forgoing the specialized tools.

I don't doubt that sean experienced difficulties when he did this job so I still approach each pin with caution, watching for the problems he described. But I guess I haven't yet encountered a piano in such a condition or of a design that makes this job tricky.
Dave Aubke
Shadetree Keys

prtarrell

You can put a piece of leather around the pin to avoid nicking by the pliers.  For stubborn pins take a soldering gun and heat the pin a bit above where it enters the rail.  If the pins are not rusty on the top end and the rust on the bottom end will not interfere with the key balance rail hole and felts, you can flip them end for end.