Clavinet key brushing woes?

[mvanmanen]

So I decided to replace the key brushings in one of my clavinets with a prelubed set from vintage vibe.
Now the action for much of the keyboard is slow to stuck.

The process seemed extremely straightforward.
The springs are very springy.
The keys are properly set.

Did I do something wrong?
Do I need to be patient and work the keys for a while?
Should I be worried?

[Ben Bove]

I had similar issues with replacing Clavinet bushings in general.  I needed to open up the metal clasps in the key, by pulling open a pair of needle-nose plyers in the socket.  I would recommend if you take this approach, to do it carefully and being careful not to crack the keys.  There's probably a correct way to do this, mine was a quick fix.

[mvanmanen]

Thanks Ben. Unfortunately it is not just a couple keys but the action on the whole is sluggish with some intermittent sticking of keys. I am going to give it some time to see if it loosens up. Otherwise, I am just going to put the old brushings back in rather than bend all of the metal clasps....

[coolkeys]

The "lubrication" on your bushings may be reacting with the rubber and causing them to swell up. They don't need lube. Try the clavinet.com bushings, zero issues.

[mvanmanen]

I was wondering about that...but then I thought why would vintage vibe sell lubricated brushings if the lubrication deforms the brushings...

[coolkeys]

Ask them what the lubrication is and google it. If its WD-40, your new bushings are ruined.

[mvanmanen]

Arrrggghhhh 

I fired a message to Vintage Vibe to ask for support.
Will see what the response is....

[Fred]

Our head "Vibanet" / Clavinet restorations tech uses the pre-lubed bushings on all new builds and restorations. It may be necessary (and indeed, commonplace) to adjust the metal insert in each key to obtain proper movement with the smallest amount of play possible.

As Ben suggested, you may use needle nose pliers to open the clasps. You may find it easier (and have a bit more control) by inserting a flat head screwdriver into the slot and GENTLY twisting to open the clasp.

Individual adjustments will be necessary to achieve optimal results for each individual key, but the end result will be a keybed that plays as new.   

[Alan Lenhoff]

For what it's worth, a few years ago, I used VV's pre-lubed bushings on a Gibson G101, and later used some of the leftovers to replace a few bad bushings on a Vox Continental and a Clavinet D6.  In each case, they worked fine.  And I believe that at the time VV was saying it used Dow Corning 7 Release for the lube. This is the most commonly recommended lube for Pratt Read bushings from a wide variety of sources. https://www.amazon.com/Dow-Corning-Release-Compound-Tube/dp/B008ZH97W2 (And I appreciated that VV would pre-lube them for $2, saving me from needing to buy a $21 tube of that stuff, when I would only need a tiny amount.)

So, a question for Fred (or anyone else who can answer):   A single type of Pratt Read bushing is sold for a lot of vintage key replacement applications today (including all the instruments I mentioned and a wide variety of synths). Is it possible that back in the day some of those keyboards (including the Clavinet) used bushings of slightly different dimensions?  Also, there is a subtle difference in the shape of the top and bottom of those bushings. Is it possible that mvanmanen installed them upside down?

Alan

[Fred]

Usually a manufacturer will want to re-use a design for other similar applications, but anything is possible.

There is a mark on each bushing to indicate direction. That said, as key leveling, spacing, and tightness should all be addressed and adjusted when re-bushing a key bed, you'll be just as well making adjustments as opposed to disassembling the work already done, as those adjustments will most likely be necessary anyway.

[mvanmanen]

I went through and adjusted all of the keys. After easing the tightness of the keys there definitely was an improvement but some just continue to stick or be slow in their return, particularly some of the black keys. I tried using some of the extra new brushings on these keys first and all manner of adjustments I could think of making. Perhaps my springs are not as tight as they need to be but for now I ended up replacing the new brushings with the old brushings for about half-a-dozen keys with a good result....so perhaps it is not a bad idea to keep your old brushings around just in case.

Thank you to everyone for their advice!

[Alan Lenhoff]

Since it sounds like your sticky key issue happened suddenly after you replaced the bushings, what follows is probably not your issue. But here's another common cause of sticky Clavinet keys:

When Clavinet hammer tips degrade, they can get gooey and stick to the strings.Even if you've recently replaced the tips, gooey stuff from the old tips might still be on the strings or anvils.  (One other symptom of this problem: Do you hear a second "pop" from some keys after you release the key -- when the key sticks briefly to the string and then finally releases?)

I had this issue on my D-6 after replacing the hammer tips. The solution was repeated treatment of the strings and anvils with some guitar string cleaner.  After about four treatments,  all was good.

Alan

[funkylaundry]

Last time I took my Clavinet apart, I found that a lot of the bushings seemed too hard and did not provide the right amount of cushioning. Because I was too lazy to wait for ordering new ones I figured I might as well try lubricating them with fluid silicon. After lubricating all of them I discovered the same problem. My bushings had all swollen and did not allow the keys to travel right. I fixed it by using a blade to slice off a tiny slice off each bushing. I've been playing with that for almost a year now, but I have some new bushings in a drawer waiting for me to take it all apart again.