making key bushing cauls

[Farrell]

Hmmmm, I don't know exactly what process you describe below, but with the
Spurlock system, all you do is lay the cloth across the mortice (no holding
of both ends of anything), insert caul and cut cloth with razor (cloth
doesn't get dragged anywhere) - move on to next key.....

Terry Farrell

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Greg Newell" <gnewell@ameritech.net>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, November 15, 2004 4:19 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.
>
> 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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>