[pianotech] Ironing bushing cloth - Best Bushing Job Ever

William Monroe pianotech at a440piano.net
Sat Jan 31 13:22:22 PST 2009


Hi David,

Can you define "too much."  Do you use Teflon or brass cauls in your work? 
I'm guessing you've tried both at some point, what do you find the tradeoffs 
to be?

I'm using (have always used) Spurlock's sizing cauls followed by warmed 
brass cauls and hot hide.  As I said before, I like to remove the cauls 
after cure, apply Teflon to the bushing, then do a final size with a warmed 
caul, either wholesale, by inserting the same size brass caul as was used 
during the cure, or with a warmed specific size caul on the soldering iron, 
inserted for about 1-2 seconds in each bushing.  Seem very uniform, very 
smooth, and very quiet upon installation.

As with most things in this work, it seems to me a balancing act between 
density and resiliency.  For me, I'd feel like bushing cloth that get loose 
or dimpled too soon after a job would not be dense enough, those that are 
noisy are perhaps too dense, whether because of ironing or glue saturation.

I'd be interested in your feedback, David.

William R. Monroe


> Hot Hide Glue is the glue of choice here for two reasons:
>
> 1. It's easy to remove down the line.
>
> 2. When applied to the felt it cools off and gels before it has time to 
> soak too deeply into the cloth thereby reducing the resiliency in the 
> felt.
>
> Ironing, by the way, reduces resiliency while increasing density so care 
> is needed not to rely too much on the iron.
>
> David Stanwood
>
>>Glue that soaks in too deeply can/will cause squeaks and clicks as the 
>>glue in the cloth rubs against the keypin.  We want a very firm, yet 
>>resilient surface against the keypin, not a hard unforgiving one.  We're 
>>going for adhesion here, and not much "penetration" into the cloth is 
>>necessary.
>>
>>William R. Monroe
>>
>>
>>SNIP
>>
>>>Tell me, though, why do we NOT want the glue to soak in?  Or will it 
>>>adhere just as well to ironed bushing cloth?
>>>
>>>Also, do you iron both sides, then?
>>>
>>>Thanks,
>>>
>>>John Dorr
>
>
>
> 




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