Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2012-02-10 15:03
On the Musical Instrument Tech board, there's been a good discussion of Bundy keywork, noting that while a wood body is relatively stable, a plastic body expands and contracts with temperature change. Therefore the keys, particularly the long ones, must be made shorter than the distance between the posts. Bundy keywork in particular is very difficult to swedge.
One solution is to twist a length of Teflon plumber's tape into a tight string. With a sharp blade, cut off about 1 mm. and push it into the screw hole. Reassemble and as you tighten the point screw it will drive into the pellet of Teflon. This won't close up the gap, but it will take up the slop in the pivot.
This works only for pivot screws. For rod keys, thin Teflon washers, available from optometry equipment suppliers, can be inserted between the post and the key body.
The problem is even worse on plastic basses and contras, leading to imprecise action, key clanking and even leaks.
A plastic instrument fixed up this way won't play outside, or maybe even in a cold concert hall, so the changes must be made with caution, but how many contras are there in a marching band?
Has any repair tech tried this? What do you think?
Ken Shaw
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