Keyboard cont.: Balance pins and keyplates

The key rack will require balance pins. The short length of keys means that the balance point lies under key plates, and thus can be no higher than the thickness of the key tails. I cut small 2mm diameter nails in half and then off with their heads! The round thing in the foreground is a magnet to pick up the iron filings as I go along.

Here the new, cut, rounded over, and polished balance pins are press fit through the felt padding and into predrilled holes along the balance rail (seen here not yet fully set in place). You can also see the key plate material here which I believe is African Padauk.

The key holes must be opened up at the rocking points on the top and bottom. I used a hardened spring with a bolt through the center for a handle to facilitate this. It essentially presses the wood fibers laterally, and I understand this is a traditional method for opening this hole.