Front Rail Bushings

[David Love]

The tip of a pipe cleaner set in the mortise gap allows you to use a dropper
and have the water dispersed to each side fairly uniformly.  Goes very
quickly.  

David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net 
www.davidlovepianos.com

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of John Delacour
Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2007 4:28 PM
To: Pianotech List
Subject: Re: Front Rail Bushings

At 3:04 pm -0700 14/4/07, Matthew Todd wrote:

>What is the best way to remove front rail bushings if I'm not 
>replacing keytops.  The reason I ask this is because the way I was 
>taught to remove the bushings was with a hot iron and damp rag. 
>Well, that'll work fine if I'm replacing keytops at the same time 
>since the steam will work the tops loose.  But I want to remove 
>front rail bushings only, and I want to find out something that will 
>work better.

I have never used steam to remove anything in 35 years.  Use hot 
water with a few drops of detergent to soak the bushings, leave them 
for a an hour or two or for as long as it takes and then lift out the 
bushings with flat nosed pliers.  The whole job will take less than 
half an hour.  Needless to say, the water that actually does the work 
is by then cold, and anyone who works with animal glue knows that 
glue is softened more quickly with cold water than with hot.  The 
purpose of using hot water is simply to overcome surface tension so 
that the water soaks immediately through the cloth.

I used to use an eye-dropper or pen-filler to apply the water but 
quite recently invented a new tool and made one also for a colleague 
of mine, who has now told me three times how pleased he is with the 
method.  I'll take a picture when I can find it, but the principle is 
that of an old dip-pen.  The tool is made from a bamboo chopstick (a 
hammer-shank will also do) with a slit that will hold just enough 
water to soak one bushing.  When you dip it in the water it picks up 
just the right amount and when you touch it on the cloth, that water 
is drawn into the bushing and there is no spillage.

JD