Pressure cooker bushing removal

[A440A@aol.com]

Bill writes:
<< The very best idea would be to use the original venting top. It is
so short and near the cooker that condensatin does not occur, and it blasts
the steam plenty far to do work.  >>

      Yes, I agree, and this is very close to what has worked well for me.  I
brazed the mounting lug of a hot water heater element on the end of a small
fire extinguisher(5 lb. size, about a foot long and 4" dia.).   It was over an
offset hole, so that when I screwed in the 110 volt heater element, it was
near the side. Putting this side down, I tapped in four drilled-out grease
fittings(zerk) in a row across the top,  These are different diameters, and
can be shut off simply by dropping a headed nail into them.  
    Mounted in a small rack, with a place to put keys above the vents, the
thing provides anywhere from one to four steam streams, allowing those white-
glue bushings to sit over the steam for as long as necessary, (some sets need
to have four keys going over this thing as I go through the set, you vary the
time by the number of keys over the steam at any one time.  
     Hide glue originals come out almost as fast as you can put it on, pick
the last one up,  tweeze the cloth out and reach for another one.  The white
glue stuff likes three to four going at once. 
    The balance rail bushings are done with the keys upside down, and after 10
seconds, not only is the cloth loose, but the balance rail hole has been steam
sized quite well. I usually burnish the holes back to size and give them a
sizing of either  CA glue or a VERY dilute mix of PVC-E and water.  
     Total cost on the steamer was about $5.00. I have used it for 15 years.
If you use a 220 volt element on the 110 circuit, it just gets hot enough to
steam perfectly, but takes a long time to warm up. If you use a 110v on 110,
you will need a dimmer switch, ( another $4.00 or so), but you can really warm
up that little bottle of water in a hurry and control how much pressure.  A
large bolt,cut to length screws into the hole on the other end, and is used
for filling.  
     The one caution, besides burning any vestige of profanity out of you with
a careless pass of the wrist over the vents,(  a friend asked if I had tried
to commit suicide with a soldering iron.),  is not to let it run out of water,
or the element gives a final glow and dies........ One filling is good for
more sets of keys than I can sit still for. 
Regards, 
Ed Foote