Action friction reduction question

[Roger Jolly]

Hi Richard,
                  I have had some early 80's Baldwin verticals with this
problem.
#1 shrink bushings
#2 remove old pins.  (#19)
#3 Fit a #21 pin in your pin vice, and heat with alcohol lamp. burnish hole
with hot pin.
#4 Repin with #21.
Tightens up the bushing and pin for 4 swings very nicely
Being cheap, I use 1/2 rubbing alcohol, and 1/2 water. One of the few
things in life where a Canadian dollar goes a long way.
If you have a plating problem, then ream out 2 full sizes to get rid of the
crud in the bushing cloth.  Don.M's fluted parallel reamers are ideal for
this job. ( Availiable thro' Pianotech)
Verdigris you are into replacing parts. Any other fix is temporary at best.
Red stains on the pins is usually a clue that some one before you has tried
unsuccessfully to size or lubricate the problem. Take a magnifying glass
and inspect the pin carefully for fakes or pits. 
Please note, I do not go 2 full sizes as a general rule, but when dealing
with plating or unstable bushing cloth it seems to yield the best results.
Regards Roger





At 09:07 PM 03/09/00 +0200, you wrote:
>Say there Roger... I was wondering... this shrinking process thingy... I run
>into a few pianos that have seemingly snug enough centers / bushings...
but the
>bushing cloth used is like really soft and bushy.. you can burnish the
hell out
>of this stuff without getting it "pressed to stay". Not wanting to have to
>completely replace the set of flanges, or get into rebushing.. would it
work to
>"shrink" them, and then re pin ??
>
>just a wandering...grin
>
>Roger Jolly wrote:
>
>> Hi Kristinn,
>>                   If the centre's look clean, no verdigris, and you have a
>> lot of sluggish centre's.
>> Try sizing the bushing's with alcohol and water, leave 24hrs to dry
>> naturally.  It will save a lot of work and give consistent results. Drying
>> with a hair drier tends to over shrink the bushings.
>> Regrads Roger
>>
>
>--
>Richard Brekne
>RPT, N.P.T.F.
>Bergen, Norway
> 
Roger Jolly
Saskatoon, Canada.
306-665-0213
Fax 652-0505