[CAUT] l. o. punchings: recondition or replace?

[Fred Sturm]

Hi Alan,
	I iron new letoff punching felts, too. They have a fuzzy surface, and  
I think the regulation takes a while to stabilize if you don't iron it  
down. Which may be a source of the notion you need to set letoff at  
1/8" to avoid blocking.
	With old felts. it depends on the condition. Sometimes there are  
caverns in the felt, and it's hard to get to a flat surface even with  
some judicious sanding. If that seems the case, I replace.
	My experience is that if I iron the punchings, regulating letoff goes  
much faster (when you make a slight turn, it actually affects the  
regulation the amount it should, and doesn't affect it in the opposite  
direction), and lasts better.
	BTW, I have begun applying teflon powder to the punchings after  
ironing, using a pipe cleaner, on the theory that there will be less  
actual wear of wool fibers, as opposed to packing of fibers. I also  
brush a wee bit of water on the punchings before ironing to make it  
more effective - the steam sets the fibers better than just heat.
	This takes lots less time to do than to write about. Probably a  
couple minutes tops, and saves time down the road.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu



On Jul 25, 2008, at 6:08 AM, reggaepass at aol.com wrote:

> Fred (& List),
>
> You have shared so many very helpful tips regarding grand action  
> regulation in recent years.  In his class at the Anaheim convention,  
> Jim Busby related your method for steaming and ironing action cloth  
> (e. g., let-off punchings and wippen support [AKA capstan] cloths).   
> I was wondering: in the case of let-off punchings, is the result you  
> get "as good as" replacing with new or more in the realm of not  
> quite as good as new, but a substantial improvement, and less time  
> consuming than replacement?
>
> What sayest thou, oh sage?
>
> Alan Eder
>
> The Famous, the Infamous, the Lame - in your browser. Get the TMZ  
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