Key leads and weighting / need advice

[maul]

My old piano (which was pretty cheap) has completely unweighted keys, which obviously creates a very light and uneven action. My goal is to get is evenly/properly weighted. The key leads I've purchased are the kind that sit above the key, not within it. This will allow me to test each key individually by moving it around on top and positioning it. I need to be able to test each one individually to get a perfectly weighted action.

My question is, what is the method for determining the actual weight of the key (with the pivot, etc)?

[kawaidon]

Ian,

Most people knowledgeable in piano service will tell you that it's not such a good idea to do this yourself.  I have seen many a piano action screwed up badly by hack piano tuners who supposedly are familiar with how to do things.

That said, there are gram weights sold by piano supply companies which are used at the playing position of the key to measure the amount of weight it takes to make the key move down.

Upright pianos should not be individually weighted to give even touch weight.  The key weights are usually placed evenly, and if the action is well regulated and not too worn the touch should be even.  Grand piano actions are weighted individually, as the key weights (in the front part of the keys) are used to balance the weight of the hammers and wippens at the rear.

If you can find a location at the rear to place your jiffy-leads (that's what the screwed-on type are called) that gives a correct down weight at the front on many of the keys, then you should locate all of the weights at the same distance fron the balance point.  Black keys all the same, white keys all the same.  That should get you in the ballpark.

Make sure what you do is reversible.

[maul]

Thanks for the reply. I actually did exactly what you said in your last paragraph a couple days ago, and it has improved the touch greatly. What's interesting is my teacher's piano (a quality Baldwin) has no leads on the black keys, yet has a perfectly even action.