Hey!
Key straightening is pretty simple in theory, but
a long careful process. Anybody needing advice can
contact me here and I will gladly take you through it.
You'll need a few things: A decent heat gun, some
good woodworking clamps, about $5 in pennies (loose),
a plastic bag and a lot of patience. The pennies and
the bag are used for an adjustable weight source.
You'll need to do repeated treatments over many
days/weeks, but it's worth it. Markus turned me on to
the method and it's quite sound. EMI103S was a
craggly, twisted monstrosity, with keys rubbing and
catching on each other and now it's as good as new!
I can't stress enough, however, that it does
require some definite skill and a familiarity with the
basic properties of wood. Do Not attempt to mess with
your 'tron keys unless you know what you're doing.
They can easily be irreparably damaged.
Cheers!
-Jack Younger
EMI103S "The Orthodontitron"
--- Andy Thompson <andy.thompson@...> wrote:
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: lsf5275@...
> To: Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Friday, September 30, 2005 6:02 AM
> Subject: [Mellotronists] Tron Rebuild
>
>
>
> Anyone here interested in what's going on with
> #740? This Tron was apparently torn apart way in the
> past. The owner at the time decided that the
> headblock wasn't high enough, so he (or she)
> completely disassembled the mane frame and re
> ririveted it. The reason I am describing this is
> because when they reassembled it, they put spacers
> in between the frame and the headblock channel,
> raising it about 3/64ths of an inch. This, in turn,
> put everything else out of adjustment, and caused
> the owner to abandon the spillbox cover because the
> tapes kept scraping against it. Later the current
> owner made a new spillbox cover with weird little
> spacers underneath it. I just gets weirderer and
> weirderer.
>
> The good news is, I have become very proficient
> with my new rivet gun, and have found many new uses
> for it (excellent for tongue piercing). Barbells
> out... rivets in (so to speak).
>
> Anyway, if anyone on the list is interested in
> following along as I rebuild the WORST Smellotron
> yet. I am shooting annotated photos as I go, and am
> happy to share my progress.
>
> I am also working on a somewhat less f***ed up
> Tron, as well as the very warped keyboard of a
> another Tron. Straightening warped keys is a
> challenge.
> Since most of what we do on this list is brag or
> bitch, I though I would share what I'm doing in case
> there are new owners or others who might have
> questions about their own machines and want to
> observe (or participate with their own ideas) in the
> resurrection of two (+) more Mellotrons.
>
> This one is the most "ground up" job I've
> undertaken. Thanks to Martin for the Azimuth jobs on
> the headblocks, and Markus for the SMS 5 cards.
>
>
> Frank
>
> You're a glutton for punishment aren't you, sir?
> :-) Are you going to post the pics on your site as
> a cautionary tale? Actually, if you find a good way
> to de-warp keys, a friend's machine could do with
> being treated in the same fashion, so I'll be
> following your progress with interest. And good
> luck... :-)
>
> Andy T.
> M400 #1145 (no weird rivets, thank you)
> http://www.planetmellotron.com
>
>
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