Accurate cutting strips of cloth for Damper backing

[Brad Smith]

Hi Michael,
I use the same setup, but not just a straight edge.
I mark a line with a pen for my cut.
Then, I put a straight-edged, clear, 1/8" thick plastic sheet over top of the strip that I'm about to cut.
So, the skinny strip that I want, is now trapped under the plastic, and my target cutting line is right on the edge of the plastic.
Keep good pressure, roll your cutter along your line at the edge of the plastic.
You'll find that you favor one side of the cutter, because it allows you a better view of how the blade is matching
against the straight edge.  TaDA....You have a nicely cut piece.  Works for buckskin too, when recovering backchecks.
If you go a little wide of the line, no problem, this method allows you to make another pass to trim an existing piece of material
if needed.   The other way (with the desired felt strip sticking out from under your straight edge)
gives you no room for error.  Don't be cheap about using a nice new sharp blade, too.

Another idea:  I haven't needed to do this, but I have thought about making a thin straight cut in the plastic, which would act as a
blade guide for the roller blade. That would allow even better control, I imagine.

The plastic can be found at craft stores, and some home improvement stores.
It's too stiff to use for bridge patterns, but is an excellent indexing tool for rebuilding, pinblock location, etc.
For example, I made a hammer centering jig with it, that allowed me to quickly position and mark the strike point on new hammers
before installation. And, I used it to do careful indexing of fallboard hardware pivot point, when installing one of those fallboard
decelerators (See http://www.pianofortesupply.com/fallboarddeceler.html )  in a grand piano.
The pivot point is crucial, and the plastic allows me to get an excellent reference for where to drill a new hole in the side of a
perfectly good piano.  :-)


Best regards,
Brad Smith, RPT
www.smithpiano.com


  -----Original Message-----
From: Michael Gamble [mailto:michael@gambles.fsnet.co.uk]
Sent: Sunday, September 18, 2005 3:37 AM
To: pianotech@ptg.org
Subject: Re: Accurate cutting strips of cloth for Damper backing
Hello List
Anyone got any bright ideas on how to cut cloth (or felt) in really parallel
strips and at a specific width for use on damper backing? The original was
indeed cloth, not felt, the weave is plain to see at the sides. I have a
"roller" type knife, one of those rubbery green mats (a large one) marked
out in small squares, and a long straight-edge used for key-levelling. The
problem is to stop the felt from shifting under the knife! (don't we all?)
Regards
Michael G.(UK)