making key bushing cauls

[Carl Meyer]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Greg Newell" <gnewell@ameritech.net>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, November 15, 2004 1:19 PM
Subject: RE: making key bushing cauls


>
> Ron,
>          I use the Bushmaster system and find it to be, as you've said, an
> incredible waste of bushing cloth (much more that 3 times). I suspect that
> the Spurlock caul users are taught to use the same method I did before the
> Bushmaster. I used to lay the cloth over the mortise and when it touched
> the top of the opposite side of the mortise it was the correct length. The
> problem I always had with that was holding both ends of cloth immobile
> while pushing in the cloth which invariably tried to drag the cloth with
it
> into the hole. I like the speed of the Bushmaster but really hate the
waste.


You could always use the waste to stuff a pincushion.


Carl Meyer Ptg assoc
Santa Clara, Ca.




> Greg Newell
>
>
>
>
>
> At 12:49 PM 11/15/2004, you wrote:
>
> >>I'd like to see a side-by-side trial of the "Bushmaster" method and the
> >>Spurlock system. I use the Spurlock system and love it, but I have never
> >>tried the other. Anyone used both? Opinions? I recall can't imagine
anything
> >>slicker than the Spurlock system.
> >>
> >>Terry Farrell
> >>
> >>I've used both and have come up with a hybrid system: I use the Spurlock
> >>system with hot hide glue, but with brass cauls.  The thickest brass
caul is
> >>used to hold the first bushing in place, the required size is used for
the
> >>other side.  Then I place a clothes iron (set on cotton) on top of the
final
> >>cauls.  This reactivates the hide glue, sizes the bushing hole in the
key
> >>and sets the cloth bushing to the caul.  Let stand over night. The key
hole
> >>sizing step is eliminated, as well as any easing.  Steaming the old
bushings
> >>out will also size the balance rail.
> >>
> >>Paul C
> >
> >In the late 70's, I made a tool that works somewhat like the Bushmaster,
> >copied from an existing tool someone had that originally came from who
> >knows where. Both of these tools lacked a means of indexing the depth of
> >the cloth, so my copy didn't work too well. For years, I used hide glue,
> >cauls, and two pieces of appropriate thickness cloth, inserted into the
> >mortise, caul inserted, and trimmed flush with the caul with a knife.
This
> >worked, ok, with near zero waste of bushing cloth, but was hard to gage
> >the depth of the bushing in the mortise. Lately, I've used my old
homemade
> >tool, re-modified with ears to index the cloth to proper depth (like the
> >Bushmaster). It's quick and wastes three times as much bushing cloth as
is
> >glued in the keys. Unnecessary waste offends me, but the uniformity of
the
> >job is just what I was after, so that's where I currently am.
> >
> >I suppose if I did key bushings on a weekly basis I might be doing it
> >differently, since it always seems to take me half a set to get
> >comfortable with it and in rhythm, this is easy and mindless enough a
> >system for me to run it. When I get tired of looking at my funky little
> >tool, or it finally falls apart and dies, I'll probably buy a Bushmaster.
> >
> >So how do you Spurlock method bushers index cloth depth, and are you
happy
> >with the result?
> >
> >Ron N
> >
> >_______________________________________________
> >pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
>
> Greg Newell
> Greg's piano Forté
> mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net
>
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