Anyone know where I can get a strip of (blue) felt about 1" wide by ~
5' long to replace the strip on a piano? It's quite a good instrument (Bechstein upright) and I'd like to get the right colour blue!A second question is if someone knows how to cut this strip so it has a nice straight edge. Felt is a pig to cut straight and my previous attempt with a scissors was pathetic. Thanks
Yellow Pages - your local music shop or a piano restorer/repairer presumably.
Place felt on to firm flat surface you don't mind damaging, place a good straight edge (like a metal ruler) on top and then run a Stanley knife with a new blade down the straight edge.
David
Sounds like a good idea but in practice quite difficult to do on such a long piece. Problem is how to keep the pressure even and the straight edge from wandering. Felt also has a habit of tearing. Not that I have any better ideas mind.
You don't need to keep the pressure 'even', you just need to hold it 'firmly'; notably at the point where the blade is - ie you can move down the workpiece - maybe on the floor? - transferring your weight as you go.
If you haven't got a suitable straight edge go and buy a cheapo builder's spirit level from the market for a fiver.
If the blade is new the felt certainly won't tear.
David
Restoring pianos isn't really a d-i-y activity
It's the only way for felt. So you'll be needing to make up a big workbench fro the job, such as working diagonally across a half sheet of hardboard on the carpet, with a spare wardrobe door as a straightedge (how I did this sort of thing last time I didn't have a huge straightedge handy).
Alternatively join up several small strips, with a scarfed joint. If you glue them neatly, you'll never notice the joins on somethingslightly fuzzy, like felt.
Although their demolition and re-cycling can be 8-)
Regards,
I'm not restoring a piano! Just the felt strip that lies at the top of the keys. The only difficult part is getting /cutting the felt properly. It doesn't affect the action/tuning/playability or anything else. Just the appearance. Blimey if that's not DIY I don't know what is!
Glue the felt into position first and then use a straight edge with a brand spankin new stanley blade.
Cabinet makers,Pool&Snooker table makers on the net might have off cuts for a price,email them
Have you thought of contacting Bechstien? For such a good piano i tghink it is worth getting the correct part from them rather than making do. I imagine that what you are replacing is the strip that the keys bear onto, so it will affect the feel of the keyboard.
Robert
Forget the Stanley knife. Use a circular cutter designed for cutting fabrics.
I've never had any luck with those on thick felt (and as a kitemaker, I've got good rotary cutters).
A Stanley shoudl do it, so long as it's a new blade. Otherwise a snap-off, or even a scalpel.
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