MISCELLANEOUS REPAIRS.

A few miscellaneous difficulties, common to all styles of actions, are
occasionally met with and need to be rectified.

1. _Broken Hammer Shank_.--Glue the ends, lay a nicely fitting piece
of wood, well coated with glue, on each side and wrap with binding
wire. If it is broken off up so close to the hammer as not to permit
this, drill a hole through the hammer head in line with the center of
the shank, with a small-sized screwdriver such as watchmakers use, and
run the wire through this and around the shank, drawing it firm; glue
as before; when dry it will be as strong as ever. When the shank is
broken off close to the butt, the same treatment will sometimes
answer, but the strain here is so much greater that it is sometimes
necessary to put in a new shank. In fact, it is always better to do
so.

2. _Flanges, damper heads_, and all small wooden parts are liable to
break or come unglued. The watchmaker's screwdriver, the binding wire
and the glue must always be at hand for these emergencies. These
breaks are generally in places where wrapping is not permissible, and
you are compelled to drill. Keep the screwdriver well sharpened and
the drilling is easy.

3. _Ivories_.--When unglued, scrape the old glue off, apply glue to
both surfaces and clamp with an ivory clamp or rubber band until the
glue is firm. Apply the same treatment to ebony sharps.

4. _Leads_ in the keys and the dampers of the square piano get loose