[CAUT] STEAM! STEAM! STEAM!!!

[Porritt, David]

Good answer.  I've bolstered a few knuckles in my lifetime, but I have been much more prone to replace parts.  I do, seriously, try to calculate the cost of some of these jobs that save old parts and compare that cost to new parts and usually the new parts win.  Time is usually the big factor to renewing old parts...i.e. it will take a week to get new parts but this has to be done by tomorrow.

dave


David M. Porritt, RPT
dporritt at smu.edu<mailto:dporritt at smu.edu>

From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Fred Sturm
Sent: Friday, March 13, 2009 3:50 PM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] STEAM! STEAM! STEAM!!!

On Mar 13, 2009, at 1:41 PM, Porritt, David wrote:


OK, what's the theory here?  When knuckles need to be bolstered or the leather tightened - what was the cause?  Did the core felt get too packed, or did the leather stretch?  If the leather stretched, the bolstered knuckle will be larger changing the action ratio some.  If the felt packed down and you make the leather shorter the knuckle will be smaller and also change the action ratio.  Since in many cases we didn't see the knuckles when new and even if we did there's probably zero chance that we'll remember how large the knuckles were originally.  Which repair would keep the action ratio the same?

            If you have the time and money to worry about action ratio, you can replace parts. If you have an old action where either the leather has stretched and become sloppy, or the core felt has compacted, leaving the leather sloppy, you can improve the feel and response of the action by tightening the leather. Bolstering, to my mind, is not as good a way to go, as it misshapes the knuckle - and it's a pain in the butt to do. If the action is worn enough that the cause is compacted felt, there are no doubt other issues that would be dealt with in an ideal scenario. But stretching will improve things, regardless. The tiny difference in knuckle diameter will have a small effect compared to the impact of tight vs sloppy leather. That's my take, at any rate.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu<mailto:fssturm at unm.edu>


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