leather key bushings

[Jon Ralinovsky]

Doug and Others,
I'm using leather from Richard Meyer & Sons and cauls from Spurlock.  So
the fit has to be much tighter than usual at the outset?  Maybe some
full-grain cowhide would do ;)  What is Ballistol oil and what purpose does
it serve during the drying process?  Does it help keep the leather from
shrinking (if that is indeed my problem)?  Does Titebond help with the fit?
Will these questions ever stop?


>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

Jon Ralinovsky
 Piano Tech, Miami U., Oxford, OH
 ralinoj@muohio.edu