Time to add the cherry wood sharps.
I laid a nice, perfectly-sized, heavy level across the keys, checked the distance between the white keys, making sure they were reasonably equal. Any that seemed off a little had their sides sanded to help even up those spaces or received a tap to their balance pin. Using the level's straight edge, I set the first and last cherry tops on the keys, keeping a 1/16" gap between the front of the sharp and the back of the cutout on the naturals and visually centering them between the neighboring naturals.The manual said to clamp the straight edge down, but for the life of me, I just couldn't see it. The level had enough weight by itself.
And by the by, there is a front and back to those sharps!
The glue went on those two sharps and I backed them up against the level/straight edge. I left them alone for 24 hours, just to be safe. The next day, I glued the remaining sharps, again taking care to visually center them between their neighboring naturals and butting the back sides up against the level. Easy. Again, another 24 hours to dry.
Next came rounding all the edges of the keys. The manual suggested using a mill bastard file, but ever the independent one, I turned again to my trusty Dremel and sanding sponges. Lots of dust, but the naturals all look really nice with their rounded, almost beveled edges. They look as if they are a bit worn from years and years of playing.
The edges of the sharps were simply softened with the sanding sponge. I love them!
I plan to sand all the keys with finer and finer grades of sand paper, but I'm waiting until I roof the keys. Oh yes, I can't resist. I'll be roofing those babies! When I am finished with that, I'll treat the key covers (both sharps and naturals) and key front moldings to a coat of tung oil - the same oil I used on the case.
As for the roofing....
I'm not a woodworker. I don't carve. But I just have to take this extra step. This will require a little bit of study on my part and probably a whole lot of time! Stay tuned...
