key bushings

Today had all the qualities of a Monday. Problems, not insurmountable, but problems. Working my way through piles, with slow computer connections, I just tried to take a zen approach, and was glad that at least I had a lunch of tasty leftovers to look forward to. After giving up on reconciling a very involved credit card bill, I decided a fresh mind could sort it out later and I went down to the shop. The tasty lunch had been consumed, but I needed something else. I walked through the door and Steve said "last half a cookie on the desk". Quickly I stuffed it into my mouth. Hmmmm.

Now what does this have to do with key bushings? What are key bushings?

The above illustrates the task of replacing the felt pieces that line the key buttons, the keys then rest over the pins in the key frame. Above are the balance rail bushings, there is also a set under the front of the keys that are the front rail bushings. This is not an impossible task, but it is also not an easy one, at least for me. I have been working on technique, glue consistency, consistency in general. And there are depth issues. Since I use both my right and left hands for this task there seems to be variation. But today, 10 months later, and I don't know how many bushings, Steve told me the last set I did looked good. Hallejulah, and praise Allah and any other gods that may be around. For the record, I don't use a knife, but single edge razor blades, and I work from the front. And I change razor blades often. Not a wasteful usage, they go into the secondary tub for scraping tasks. And they ultimately go into the metal recycling can. And occasionally I find some errant plastic caul in the pocket of my jeans.