leather key bushings

[Doug Hershberger]

I've used the leather from Renner and not had that problem. What is the
source of your leather? Also, on the balance rail I fit them fairly tight to
the cauls. Bill Spurlock says to fit them a little loose otherwise they will
be too tight. I tried that at first by sanding the thickness the leather but
then I had the same problem you did. Although this is not related to
fitting, one trick I learned was to put a drop or two of Ballistol oil on
each side of the bushing before you leave the final caul in  for the glue to
dry.
   I know some people are going to get all worked up about the following;
I've used tightbond to glue the leather in and NEVER had a problem steaming
them back out. When I was learning how to fit the bushings, I got one set
too loose and one too tight so I had to remove them. No problems with
tightbond. These are fairly new pianos in an extreme environment. There are
a lot of more knowledgeable people in PTG and maybe on the list as far as
this topic is concerned but these are some of my experiences.
Doug Hershberger, RPT
----- Original Message -----
From: Jon Ralinovsky <ralinoj@muohio.edu>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 1999 1:02 PM
Subject: leather key bushings


> List,
> Recently I've been rebushing keys with leather, but the keys always seem
> too loose to me afterwards.  The fit feels good before I bush, and also
> when I put the intermediate cauls in.  Now there is about 1/64" of play at
> the balance rail and maybe 1/32" play at the front rail.  Is there
> something I'm missing?  Is the leather shrinking because of the water in
> the hot hide glue?  Any suggestions are appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Jon Ralinovsky
> Piano Tech, Miami U., Oxford, OH
> ralinoj@muohio.edu
>
>