Bent key pin found - is this worth fixing?

[sunrunner]

Hello all,

While removing the keys from my Mark I yesterday, I discovered that the key pin on #64 is bent.  To compensate for the bent key, someone drilled an extra hole in the bottom of the key, which seems to match the angle of the bent pin.  I've had this Rhodes for about 5 years and have never noticed anything different in the way this key feels.

Couple of questions...

1.  What are the odds that it came this way from the factory?  The reason I'm asking is because if the pin became bent later, it seems much easier for someone to bend the pin, rather than drill another hole in the key.  Also, the pin in question doesn't look damaged, or crooked in any way, almost as if it was put in the balance rail this way (it is going INTO the wood at the same angle, if you will).  And the wood around the pin doesn't look damaged or disturbed.

2.  Is this worth trying to fix?  I haven't noticed anything in the action of this key that feels different.

Thanks!

Jeremy

[Alan Lenhoff]

It's really hard to believe it could have come from the factory that way -- even under the influence of the CBS bean-counters. But Rhodes quality control really took a hit in the latter years. When was yours built?

Alan

[sunrunner]

It was built in 1977...

[Alan Lenhoff]

That would not make it among the last Rhodes pianos out the door -- or even the last of the Mark I's. You never know what someone might do when the boss isn't looking, but it's hard to imagine it leaving the factory like this.

Alan

[pianotuner steveo]

You may want to gently try to straighten it with vise grips, but don't overdo it.  Grasp at the lower end of the pin.

[sunrunner]

I was able to bend it back by hand (slowly and gently) and now the alignment is perfect. Key plays perfectly too. Guessing it probably got bent after it left the factory and someone didn't want to take a chance of bending/breaking it, so they drilled another hole in the key... Although the reason anyone would do this is beyond me. (Shrug).

Thanks!

Jeremy

[pianotuner steveo]

It is unfortunate that they ruined the bottom hole of the key like that. I have never seen anyone do that in nearly 40 years of piano service. I have seen these holes slightly enlarged with an awl, or a round file, that is pretty common.

[sunrunner]

After seeing some of the other god awful "repairs" done to this Rhodes over the years, somehow I'm not surprised. Luckily I'm doing a full restoration, so I'm undoing a lot of things, and replacing parts as needed. I'm going to post some before and after pictures later today. I actually began this restoration in 2010 but didn't really get much done and I'm just staring again. I restarted restoration about 6 weeks ago and have taken my time and worked on it every day. I tend to be bit obsessive about every part and have high ambitions, but I think it's common with Rhodes enthusiasts. This Rhodes was kept in a barn in Alabama for a long time and was barely playable when my brother picked it up for $65 several years ago, then gave it to me.

Some of the restoration I have done in the last 6 weeks has yielded astonishing results and I am very pleased. I look forward to the feedback from other members of the Rhodes community.

Jeremy