[CAUT] Bushing cloth thickness

[A440A at aol.com]

> Dave asks:  
> >>How old are these Steinways with 0.162” front rail pins? 
> 
    This last one is a 1980, the front pins are .147". Using thin glue, 
.162"cauls, and stock cloth, I do very little easing.   I find that putting cauls 
in that are about .015" bigger than the pins gives me the right amount of 
clearance.    

 Barbara asks:
>>Spring clamps?  I thought they weren't to be trusted.  Did you adjust them 
somehow to them to make the "spring" evenly or with less pressure?  About 
clamping pressure, wouldn't spring clamps increase it?
  
  
Fred asks: 
>>Ed, I wonder at your using spring clamps, but saying you don't want heavy 
clamping pressure. Seems like that's a contradiction, but maybe I don't know 
what you mean by spring clamps.   .<<

Gee, lotta questions.   so,   here goes: 

When bushing a Steinway front mortise, I use the cloth (.53-.055") and a caul 
that is .162" in the front rail.   I use a very thin hide glue mix.   I found 
that the thicker the glue, the more of it on the wood, and the less felt 
there was after it was clamped into the glue by the caul.   A very thin glue mix 
allows me to clamp firmly,(which lets me cut cleaner) without losing felt 
thickness to glue saturation.   The keybushings last longer, this way. 
 When bushing the balance rail bushings, I use the spring clamps, but I have 
reduced their open dimension so that they just lightly press the felt against 
the wood.   I cut the felt against a small wedge, (made from an old 
backcheck), that is inserted into the mortise afte the felt and glue go in.   
By the time I cut both sides, the glue has tacked with the pressure from the 
wedge.   I pull the wedge, install the springs, and then the spring clamps 
just hold the felt in place.   
 This is slightly more labor intensive than the Spurlock system, but I get a 
decade or more out of the bushings, in teacher's studios.   I hope the felt 
quality of the Pianotek material is good, since I just rebushed 7 Yamaha pianos 
that were totally worn out after 6 years in the practise rooms.   
Regards. 
   




Ed Foote RPT



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