Personally I find a small mild flame (like I get from my #0 or #00 acetylene tip, Ferree's tools acetylene torch kit) to work best, because I can heat sections of the key cup and work with it for a few seconds before it cools again, and the whole pad won't move, just the part I want to move. The heat gun has a much wider area it heats, and it is much harder to fix small leaks when the whole pad is floating.
I am also against key clamps- I think the shallowest seat you can get is best and will make for a longer lasting pad job. Deep seats do nothing except cover up sloppy work and shorten the life of the pad by overcompressing the felt- IMHO.
Also IMHO, pressing down on the key cup anywhere but where the force will come from during regular playing (the pearl, spatula, bar on the C# and F#, etc) will give you false results.
I am also against key clamps- I think the shallowest seat you can get is best and will make for a longer lasting pad job. Deep seats do nothing except cover up sloppy work and shorten the life of the pad by overcompressing the felt- IMHO.
Also IMHO, pressing down on the key cup anywhere but where the force will come from during regular playing (the pearl, spatula, bar on the C# and F#, etc) will give you false results.
