Sources of Bushing Felt

[alex_holden]

It's a shame piano bushing felt is usually a garishly bright scarlet red with white fibres visible on the edge. Before I found Hainsworth Doeskin (100% wool) I attempted to dye piano bushing cloth black, and it didn't work well because the white part is a synthetic fibre that doesn't absorb wool dye.

[Theo]

Thanks for this tip Alex.  I see they do black, so I'll get some.

[RogerT]

Yes, thanks both. In fact I have some black fabric bought about 30 yrs ago from a haberdashery and used in my long ago abandoned dark room. It's about the right thickness so at the moment that’s what I use. I am curious about the doeskin so I might give that a go…

[Bob Tedrow]

I get mine from a piano supply house

[Bill Crossland]

I sourced a black woven felt called Melton ME313 from Hainsworth some years back, not sure it's still available. It's 1mm thick and coloured all the way through but works well as long as you are prepared to ream out the holes if required. It isn't as easy to work with as the scarlet felt, much more difficult to see what you are doing, for one thing....

https://www.hainsworth.co.uk/collections/melton/

[Theo]

I've just ordered some Hainsworth doeskin.  Minimum order is now 2m so if anyone wants to take some I'd be pleased to split the material at cost.  

Edited November 7, 2023 by Theo

[Chris Ghent]

I tried leather for bushes about 20 years ago. The problem with the leather I used was it continued to compress with use quickly until it was paper thin anywhere the player was bearing to one side while pushing the buttons. Piano bushing cloth (baize) had a natural returning tendency and while it also will compress it takes much longer. 

[Theo]

Chris,  Doeskin sounds as if it should be leather, but it’s actually a trade name for a woollen fabric with a felted surface and perfect for concertina bushes. The surface has a visible nap which gives it a passing resemblance to short hair on an animal skin.  I think that appearance is why they chose the name.

[alex_holden]

18 minutes ago, Theo said:

Chris,  Doeskin sounds as if it should be leather, but it’s actually a trade name for a woollen fabric with a felted surface and perfect for concertina bushes. The surface has a visible nap which gives it a passing resemblance to short hair on an animal skin.  I think that appearance is why they chose the name.

 

Not to be confused with moleskin, which has a similar suede-like surface but is made from woven cotton.

 

I am curious how Melton differs from Doeskin (both made by Hainsworth).

 

They also make baize: I got a sample of that once and it seemed too thick for bushings, though perhaps useful if you need to bush an instrument with oversize holes.

 

I seem to recall some makers have said they use a baize-like product called Willi-cloth.

[Theo]

Melton may be slightly heavier in gsm, possibly slight thicker as a result of that.  I think the surface texture is different too.  Doeskin has a more pronounced nap so it haas a slightly more glossy appearance.  Important if you are making clothing or furnishings, but not relevant for bushing concertina buttons.

[mChavez]

Is there anything wrong with just bog standard compressed felt? I've used it as CBA button padding (under the buttons) without any issues.

Or is it a thickness issue specifically for concertina buttons?

I'm thinking of trying out 2mm compressed felt on a bando for bushings, but that's 10mm buttons in 12mm holes, so a bit fatter than a conci I imagine.

[alex_holden]

36 minutes ago, mChavez said:

Or is it a thickness issue specifically for concertina buttons?

I'm thinking of trying out 2mm compressed felt on a bando for bushings, but that's 10mm buttons in 12mm holes, so a bit fatter than a conci I imagine.

 

With 10mm buttons and 2mm bushings, your holes will need to be slightly over 14mm. If the holes are too large you start to run into problems with there being not enough wood between adjacent holes for structural strength.

[mChavez]

My thought was that 2mm felt will compress to about 1mm, so everything should fit very nicely.

 

Mind you, my Alfred Arnold doesn't have any bushing at all. Clackety clack.

[Theo]

3 hours ago, mChavez said:

Is there anything wrong with just bog standard compressed felt? I've used it as CBA button padding (under the buttons) without any issues.

Or is it a thickness issue specifically for concertina buttons?

I'm thinking of trying out 2mm compressed felt on a bando for bushings, but that's 10mm buttons in 12mm holes, so a bit fatter than a conci I imagine.

Pressed felt doesn't wear as well as woven felt.  It has been used by at least one melodeon manufacturer to bush bass buttons.  I've had to replace these quite often on instruments that are not that old.  Busing concertina buttons is a somewhat tedious job, you don't want to have to replace them every decade or two!

 

I think pressed felt is also generally softer than woven felt so concertina buttons might have more sideways movement, which is not conducive to good playing.  Using 2mm felt compressed to 1mm would be more stable, but how do you stop the felt expanding back to its original size and making the buttons tight.   

 

Much better to just use the correct material in the first place.

[mChavez]

Thank you.

 

Thinking about it, I've seen pressed felt used as button bushings on a high-end Accordiola CBA. 

I guess concertina is different, as everything is smaller (presumably) but for a bando even no bushings don't seem to affect the playability too much - it's more about the clacking.

In my case I can turn the buttons to 9mm if 10mm is too tight.

Will have a look for doeskin too. Worth experimenting.