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Pads - Photo Essay


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A method of making replacement pads. Materials: card stock, felt, leather. The one-hundred-year-old pads in my Lachenal New Model are still operational but are not as air tight as when new. Eventually, these new pads will replace the originals.

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New kind of button.

 

Recently I've been creating replacement buttons made of HDPP plastic - it's 'greasy' plastic that lubricates itself during its movement, so there's no need for felt bushing. But maybe the felt bush also prevents vibration, and of course the red felt looks beautiful.

 

See photo.

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My understanding is that the felt acts as a soft interface whether used for pads or bushings. It has enough "give" to compensate for shrinkage and irregularities, and helps mating parts to conform to one another. It is also used in musical instruments to buffer the sound of parts that impact on each other.

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What type of glue are you using, Mike?

I use fish glue, which has nearly, but not completely, replaced my use of hot hide glue.

 

This is an interesting piece of information since I've always been somewhat reluctant to use hide glue which appears to have to be puddled and heated for every new application, whereas fish glue (which I hadn't been aware of as yet) is available in ready-to-process liquid form...

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The woven felt button bushings are not meant to reduce friction,( they tend to increase it if they are too snug ) but to eliminate the clicking sound the buttons make when they invariably contact the side of the hole when pressed. I have wondered why, given the relatively small amount of time it takes to bush a set of holes, Lachenal made so many clacky instruments without them. Everything inside the traditional concertinas was there for a good reason. It is a good idea to make sure any changes you make accommodate the need that was addressed by the old design. More than one way to skin a cat, but they still need to be skinned.

( where the heck did that saying come from?)

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More than one way to skin a cat, but they still need to be skinned.

( where the heck did that saying come from?)

Cat-loving members might object to any cats being skinned :rolleyes:

Edited by SteveS
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More than one way to skin a cat, but they still need to be skinned.

( where the heck did that saying come from?)

Cat-loving members might object to any cats being skinned :rolleyes:

 

 

You can skin the cat that lives next door to us, vile beast. :ph34r:

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More than one way to skin a cat, but they still need to be skinned.

( where the heck did that saying come from?)

Cat-loving members might object to any cats being skinned :rolleyes:

 

 

You can skin the cat that lives next door to us, vile beast. :ph34r:

 

I believe it was the fish that got skinned.

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  • 8 months later...

 

What type of glue are you using, Mike?

I use fish glue, which has nearly, but not completely, replaced my use of hot hide glue.

 

I have just started using fish glue (Lee Valley High Tack fish glue) based on your above recommendation and it really is easy to use and sticks very well.

 

What applications do you still find a use for hide glue?

 

I have been using 'Old Brown Glue', which is a relatively easy to use hide glue, for glueing wood parts together but I would rather use fish glue for everything else.

Edited by Don Taylor
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What type of glue are you using, Mike?

I use fish glue, which has nearly, but not completely, replaced my use of hot hide glue.

 

I have just started using fish glue (Lee Valley High Tack fish glue) based on your above recommendation and it really is easy to use and sticks very well.

 

What applications do you still find a use for hide glue?

 

I have been using 'Old Brown Glue', which is a relatively easy to use hide glue, for glueing wood parts together but I would rather use fish glue for everything else.

 

I use hot hide glue for wood-to-wood applications because there is a long history and tradition of using it for musical instruments, and for good reason. I use fish glue for cloth or leather to wood applications.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Mike, I'm interested to know about the tools you have used to cut the discs?

What are these tools called and where did you obtain them?

Wadding punches. I think they were originally used to punch out discs of cloth that were used in muzzle-loading guns to separate the powder from the shot.

 

Also known as "wad punch" or "hollow punch".

Edited by alex_holden
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John

 

I have a set of Sailrite punches for my other obsession.

 

Check out canvas worker or sailmaker suppliers in the UK.

 

Or leather workers - I just stumbled onto this site which has a huge selection of punches and all sorts of other neat tools. I especially like their rationale for not buying cheap Chinese tools:

 

It's your money. Do with it what you want. Go ahead, throw it away on those cheesy tools from across the Pacific. Just buy a new set every year or so and you should be able to get the job done.
Never mind that every so often when you use one of those crummy tools there's a slight spark from the tip as a piece of the metal flies off, and it hits the cat right in the left eye, so the
cat takes off hoo-rady-cut-to-bingo through the farm house, into the summer kitchen, and right across the gas stove where the flame was just getting to that nice blue color that would steam your canning jars.
Now the cat's on fire and it heads for the living room, so there go the drapes, and that means the ceiling beams are next, and it's the weekend of the Firemen's Fund Raiser, so those guys are all
up at the intersection in town, going up to car windows with a smelly old boot, begging for change, so it'll be a while before they arrive. You're homeless and have lost all of your possessions, except for the cat,
who made it out safely, of course. You and your cheap tools. Sheesh. To make matters worse you decide it'll be fun to change the cat's name to Smokey. Get a grip, man.

 

Don.

 

Edited by Don Taylor
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