Practical Concert Work

[Fred Sturm]

--On Saturday, May 29, 2004 5:17 PM +0200 Richard Brekne 
<Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no> wrote:

> Thanks for chirping in there Fred. I have to say I had similar reactions
> to much of his article.  It would be nice to know some more about who
> this fellow is, and what kind of concert venues and artists he frequently
> provides service for.
>
> I agree particularily with your point about string leveling.... tho I'm
> sure we can go along with Hudson far enough to acknowledge if one
> over-does pulling upwards on the strings one can indeed cause problems
> along the lines he mentions. That said... to suggest that no string
> leveling whatsoever should be done struck me as bad advice.  If you dont
> mind it, I'd like to hear more about your thoughts on key bushing
> cloth....you dipped slightly into that and it roused my interest.
>
> Cheers
> RicB

	Key bushing cloth? Well, there are five thicknesses each of Haines and 
Charles House offered by Pianotek. I think what Renner, Schaff and Spurlock 
offer are the Haines. Perhaps you can get Yamaha as well, if you can 
negotiate their parts department. That's what is available in firm felt, at 
least that I know of.
	At any rate, I like to have plenty of the smallest three sizes of each 
(Charles and Haines) on hand at all times. There is some variation in 
thickness between batches. When bushing with Spurlock cauls and method, I 
look for a fit that is looser than I would really like with the caul (I'd 
prefer the cauls be a couple thousandths wider; and, yes, Bill will custom 
make them, and maybe I'll get around to ordering some. My complaint about 
it being too loose is that the caul doesn't hold the felt quite tightly 
enough for cutting purposes, and I have to bear down/sidways on the caul 
while cutting to avoid the felt pulling). I just experiment with various 
sizes I have in stock until I get what feels right. Sometimes that is two 
slightly different sizes (one in each side of the mortise).
	I have found that if I get that loose fit when installing the finish caul, 
ironing with the parallel sided brass cauls from Pianotek leaves me with a 
perfect fit, and I don't find myself needing to do any easing a year or two 
down the road. Absolutely no custom easing (except for balance hole). If I 
use felt that is not all that much tighter, I find that no amount of 
ironing will create a permanently correct size - I have to squeeze wood, 
which I vastly prefer not to do, both for practical and theoretical reasons.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico