Bushmaster

[Jon Page]

Lance,
Keypress: (jpg sent privately)
This presses the shoulders into the mortise for a square finish.
It is 22' long to accommodate 1/4 of the keyboard, four needed.

The rear blocks hold the keys while the balance rail is bushed.
Turn the section over and the fronts sit on the stepped piece
for support while bushing the front rail. Then the bottom plate is
secured on whereby the cauls are pressed into the mortise while
the glue is drying making the cloth conform.

I use the Bushmaster for cloth installation along with Pianotech's
brass cauls, heated on the rim of the glue pot.
Bushing faces come out parallel with tight, square-ish shoulders.

Then the KBI as a final touch.
Once you read the directions on this tool it speaks for itself.
There are five tapered tips to accommodate pin widths.
These are placed in a heat controlled soldering iron to press
the bushings on new cloth and old nested bushings.
This:    ( )   to this:  I I

It is far more precise than the pliers. Each mortise is pressed to
the same width for pin to cloth tolerance, unlike mashing on them
with the pliers. The pliers have their place for key work  but for
precision & speed, I use the KBI.

The KBI is useful in removing the old bushings as well. 
My method:  First, the bushing is treated with water and alcohol on
a rolled-up pipe cleaner or piece of felt. Then the KBI inserted to steam
the glue. Once the most effective heat level is determined production starts:
one is soaking, one is heating, one is de-bushed and cleaned.
Repeat as necessary.

I have found that the only other easier way to rebush keys is to
have someone else do it.

Jon Page
Harwich Port, Cape Cod, Mass. (jpage@capecod.net)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At 08:24 AM 7/15/98 -0500, you wrote:
>Jon,
>Can you talk a little about the KBI and the press?  I have never been
>satisfied with the curl you sometimes get with the cloth-not being
>perfectly square.  I like to make everything look and act like (or better)
>than factory.  I use the Bushmaster with Spurlock double shouldered cauls. 
>Thanks.  I hate it when some of my mortises look like ( ) when I'm done!  
>
>P.S. I am careful in my glue application and drying time.  
>
>Lance Lafargue, RPT
>New Orleans Chapter
>Covington, LA.
>lafargue@iamerica.net
>
>----------