Re Bushing Felt

[Kenneth Sloane]

                      Subject:                              Time:  10:19 AM
  OFFICE MEMO         Re Bushing Felt                       Date:  4/14/96

The continuous flow of pianos through our shop at Oberlin Conservatory for
action rebuilds eats up much bushing cloth, so we buy material by the yard and
use it quickly. For key bushing we use the bush master method with accu-cauls
and find that the densest cloths work best for achieving a snug fit on the key
pins. The dense cloths also last longer. Do not confuse density with
thickness, though it seems that the denser cloths come in the thicker sizes. I
consider a dense cloth as being one that has a much greater resistance to
compaction.

On the other hand, damper guide rail bushings seem to perform better when a
cloth of "medium" density is used. I think it conforms to the sharp curve of
the guide rail hole better and is quieter than the a denser cloth. However, a
former employee of our department, Bill Rulla, who does excellent damper work
started to use the denser cloths for guide rail bushings just before he left.
I still, however, use the "medium" dense.

Schaff Piano supplies us with a very dense felt for key bushing and one not
quite so dense and a little thinner for guide rail rebushing. I believe they
are made by the Charles Haus Co. in Unionville, CT. Schaff also sells a "thin"
rebushing felt that is moderately dense and of good quality. We at Oberlin,
however, have not found a bushing application yet where this "thinner" felt
was needed.

Ken Sloane, Oberlin Conservatory