the problems multiply

So. As the author of Beowulf puts it.

My plan to put on a fresh set of shiny new key tops is quashed by necessity. By simple arithmetic. The joys of restoring an antique instrument!

Presently, piano dimensions are somewhat standardized. Certainly one company may make a 6 foot 8 inch instrument and another a 6 foot 9 inch, but some things, like the octave span, are fixed. Nowadays, that span is 6 1/2 inches.

You may recall that I noticed that some of my replacement ivory keys, which had been salvaged from superannuated instruments, were a little wide. I began to take measurements, and do some internet research, and I found out that 6 1/2 standard for octaves. That means each white key top is 28/32 of an inch in width, or 7/8.
However, my Mathushek has an octave of 6 3/8 inches, and keys 27/32 of an inch.

So, ho, that means a new set of keys will not install on my keyboard. I am left now with gluing back the snaggle toothed keys, and using a few of the replacement keys that are narrower than modern standard.

Which means I need to see what kind of stuff I can use to fill the chunks missing in my keys. Some kind of plastic filler that will dry hard, and which I can sand down, at least to fill the holes. Oh well, I wanted to keep the ivory anyway, now I have to.

I was just joking yesterday with my friend Brad OB, when we were watching a TV show. Someone said, "Well, on to Plan B," and I said, "That's never a good sign."
But on to Plan B it is.

And there is a real problem that I have not yet discussed with you folks, which I have no real idea how to finesse. It involves the strings, so I will put that off for the time being.