Mike, Terry, Isaac, and Xavier, Thanks for your replies concerning the flange bushing cloth. I think I would like to order a couple of pieces of the Renner cloth, but I can't find it anywhere on their website, or the Lloyd Meyer website. Who do you guys order this stuff from? I don't have an account with Renner at this time. Thanks again for your help! Benny L. Tucker Yamaha Factory Tuner Precision Piano Tuning and Repair Thomaston, GA. Benny, There's good discussions on how to do this in either Steve Brady's "A Piano Technician's Guide to Field Repairs", or a Bill Spurlock article in the PTG Technical Exam Source Book. To answer your specific questions: A #37 drill works better for reaming than a 7/64. At 0.104", It's only a couple thousandths of an inch smaller, but it usually is a better fit to the original hole, so it removes only felt, not wood. Turn counterclockwise while inserting, then clockwise to ream. Tearing your own strips is the only way to go: more economical than buying pre-cut, and nobody's gunked it up with graphite. the rule of thumb for bushing cloth width in small holes is about 2 1/2 times the hole diameter, which says that 17/64 should be about right. Control the width by nicking with a razor, then tearing from the nick. The torn width will appear wider than the nicked width because of the edge fuzz, so you might have to do a couple to get calibrated. Renner sells bushing cloth in approximate 1 square foot pieces for about $10 each, choice of four thicknesses: 1.0mm, 1.2mm, 1.35mm, 1.5mm. I haven't done any flange centers for a while, but I think the 1.0 works out about right in a .104 hole. hope that helps, Mike Spalding Benny L. Tucker Yamaha Factory Tuner Precision Piano Tuning & Repair Thomaston, Ga.
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