Hi!
I’m in trouble with Minimoog-D key spring contacts. 6 ogf them are terribly bended so there’s no way to play with those 4 keys. I’ve desoldered those springs and bought new ones but I’m really affraid of soldering them in (when I desoldered bended spring they got much deformed during heating).
Thank you!
Sounds like you need a tech to help you out. Depends on your area.
That’s tricky stuff to do.
If I can provide any tips…
Use low heat, fine solder and work quickly.
Tin the bottom of the springs slightly first and then solder them to the piece you hopefully left intact.
If you removed the entire contact board, do basically the same, but be sure of their alignment before soldering.
Don’t solder them in at an angle, too deeply or at any other strange position (it’s easy to do.)
Afterward, make sure there’s no rosin from the solder present on any springs or buss bars. Acetone will work fine, but watch the white plastic supports- they’ll melt from a solvent this strong.
The CV contact must make contact first, before the gate contact too.
Make certain that’s correct.
Biggest considerations: good soldering iron, lots of light, patience and some fine tweezers wouldn’t hurt.
Solder flows to the hottest areas first and gold loves lead solder.
It will flow very quickly on gold at with a very low wetting angle (soldering term.)
So use a bit lower heat and limit the amount of time the soldering iron is on the pieces.
If too hot, a contact spring will suck up all the solder quickly and you’ll be in trouble.
Hope this helps. It’s not easy work for anyone.
Thank you, Kevin!
That was really helpful! 
I’ve ordered 10 gold plated springs from http://home.netcom.com/~arcsound/
I’ve also ordered 100 springs (100 is a minimal order to place on that factory) but they are not gold plated - they contain steel+nikel alloy. But I do not think that gold platting was made for something special except avoiding corrosion.
I’m going to use cold soldering alloy so it dissolves at 80 Celsium - I think it would be more safe.
Another think I do not understand at the moment is HOW TO ADJUST SPRING so CV is touched first? When I have to watch this before or after soldering in them? Anh how to adjust them after soldering? 
Thank you!
HOW TO ADJUST SPRING so CV is touched first? When I have to watch this before or after soldering in them? Anh how to adjust them after soldering?
If they go in straight, are perfectly aligned and your bussbars are straight, the CV contact WILL touch first.
But if not, very slight bending at the base of the springs can help.
This may mean bending the CV spring towards the bussbar or the gate spring away from it’s normally open contact.
Try looking long ways down an action to see what the average position is and go from there.
And don’t forget that upside-down, a keyboard may press down on some keys, especially the sharps/flats.
You don’t want to start adjusting them, only to find some were already slightly pressed down.
This above is if they’re already soldered in.
Use visual alignment before soldering them and do your best to get them straight beforehand and they may not need any adjustment(s) at all.
Also, now is as good a time as any to indicate that if new bushings are installed upside-down (incorrectly), they can mess with the tension of these springs enough to cause problems sometimes.
They can also sometimes stretch the spring contacts when the keys are at rest.
With bushings, it’s the “V” shape on top, the “Y” on the bottom.
I hope that makes sense, but should once you look closely at a bushing.
There are several variations to the keyboards Moog used for Minis too.
Some use metal brackets or square pieces of plexiglas (Perspex) to push the contact board forward and hold it in place.
If these are loose, missing or misaligned, they can cause contact points to vary.
If the rubber standoffs have cracked, new ones are available, but at $5USD ea.
That’s the lowest I’ve seen them and that means $80 (plus shipping) to replace all 16. (!)
If one or two are broken, a small squirt of silicone rubber between the contact board and keybed can help lock the contact board in place.
But make sure it’s in the right position first. (locate, then lock, as they say.)
I highly recommend taking lots of photos before anything is worked on, especially if inexperienced.
I saw an auction a few weeks back where someone showed their keyboard action in a Minimoog and their tech didn’t know keyboard springs were color-coded according to their tension.
That seller sold a Mini where some of the white keys were probably very light feeling and some the black ones, harder to press down than others.
I feel sorry for that buyer.
Taking a few photos beforehand can save someone a lot of grief later on.
Good luck! 
Thanks, Kevin! Really helpful again
One more point to clear is rubber standoffs. I’ve managed to take them off from the keybed and they are still in contact board, but I could not understan how to fix it back to keybed after I’m be done with the springs soldering? I’ve tried to push them back but I supose it is noe the right way.
Thank you!
One more point to clear is rubber standoffs. I’ve managed to take them off from the keybed and they are still in contact board, but I could not understan how to fix it back to keybed after I’m be done with the springs soldering? I’ve tried to push them back but I supose it is noe the right way.
Normally they get pushed into the keybed first, then the contact board goes on top of them.
You’re doing it in reverse, which is much more difficult.
But since they come off more easily from the keybed, it’s completely understandable how you got where you are.
A small amount of silicone lube might help, but this is one of those things that’s very difficult to do or explain.
If they are still pliable (bend and aren’t cracked), try removing them from the contact board first, put them in the keybed, then attach the contact board.
The tapered parts (contact board side) will stretch and allow removal if they’re still good.
Otherwise, they’ll break.
Sorry, but that’s the nature of 30+ year old rubber.
Btw, I was working on a replacement drop-in contact board that uses optical sensors before I got too sick to work efficiently.
But a talented technician acquaintance has taken over the project for me and perhaps if everything goes right, they’ll be available in the near future.
They’d also perhaps provide MIDI in and out, plus other keyboard modes (inversion, alternate scales, etc.)
Best part though: no cleaning necessary.
I did this for the Taurus One pedals (with non-optical switches) and sold out all I made.
This other tech previously designed a replacement contact board for Taurus Two pedals.
So together and with high hopes, perhaps the days of having to constantly maintain your Mini D contacts will be a thing of the past.
For now, I again wish you the best of luck getting your original contact board back in safely.
Thanks again and again and again, Kevin!
Extremely helpful info!
Best regards,
Peter.