Got a call from a private club, saying they needed their piano tuned, but also that they had a Bb key that wasn’t working. When I arrived, the Bb below Middle C had “broken”, or more accurately “split”. Someone either had played the key too hard, or something could have fallen on the key at some point. The split was pretty clean, so gluing was no problem.

Left Pic – Broken (split) Bb Key
Right Pic – About to glue…(I carry a few pieces of cardboard to use as a work surface)

Left Pic – Glued and Clamped
Right Pic – All done…I glued and clamped the key when I first arrived, then proceeded to tune the piano. By the time I had finished the tuning, the glue had set adequately, so I was able to put the key back into place. The piano wasn’t going to be played for several days, so the glue had plenty of time to cure.