making key bushing cauls

[John Ross]

I really can't see, why everyone is making such a big deal, over the waste 
of the bushing cloth.
I bet, if you figure out the percentage of the charge you make, that the 
material cost is miniscule.
Ok, I will admit, it is not ecologically good to waste.
I find the saving in time, makes the little bit of waste well worth it.
Regards,
John M. Ross
Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada
jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Greg Newell" <gnewell@ameritech.net>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, November 15, 2004 5:19 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
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
>