List, Thanks to all who responded to the enlarged mortise query. Thanks especially to Ed Sutton who suggested the Spurlock Mortise Sizing Cauls. Although this was not their intended use, they worked well in gluing in shims to a consistent size. My first thought was to use the old spring clamps as Ken suggested, but as with bushings I think a more consistent result is possible with these cauls. To help with that as well, I used a drill bit to make the mortises consistently large in size so that I could use the same shims for all. I used 1/64" (.0175-.018") "Airplane Plywood" from a hobby store for shim material. I cut strips using a roll cutter, and then used the damper felt "guillotine" to cut those into shim pieces. I put 2 shims into the front rail mortises, and 1 in the balance rail. The result was quite even, requiring no easing of keys, although the balance rail bushings are a little looser than I would have liked. I glued in the shims with Titebond II, which is water-resistant not water-proof, so I hope they survive the steaming out of the bushings next time around (any suggestions there - resin glue - careful use of Gorilla glue??). Cleaning out the glue squeeze-out was a little time-consuming, but the whole process was relatively painless. I'm looking forward to trying the Spurlock Mortise Sizing Cauls in their intended use on a healthy set of keys. Any feedback on this process or other ideas? Jeff Stickney, RPT University of Montana jpage@selway.umt.edu
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