Because the keys on this instrument are exposed to view, they really need to be carved in a decorative way. It's not mandatory, but the old instruments would have had it, so of course, I had to do it.
The manual says to use a knife, but I am not a wood carver, and I'm pretty certain I would have carved more of myself than the wood if I had tried to use a knife. And this is the 21st century. The builders of old used tools available to them at the time. I'll use tools available to me in my time. So, trusty Dremel to the rescue. I'm actually quite handy with the little tool.
I used 240-grit sanding bands on the sanding mandrel attachment. (The only other grit available was 60 which is too coarse for the soft wood of the keys.) I started sanding at the sharp edge of the key which is midway between the top pencil mark and the side pencil mark. By positioning the Dremel on that edge and keeping the two pencil lines in sight, I was able to achieve a nice slant, curving up on the ends.
The round barrel helped me to create those little ski tips quite easily. I flipped to the opposite side and carved the opposite slope in the same manner, thus creating the central ridge on the top of the key. It was a messy job that created a lot of sawdust.
After completing the heavy sanding, I then hand sanded each key with a fine grit paper to really clean and sharpen up the little pitched roofs.
And here they are, all back in place and looking great!
