Bruce Clark writes:

> I purchased what I thought were the very best of materials * from
> Player Piano Company. *  I used hot glue, and the job seemed to turn
> out well.  Recently, I noticed the Ampico seemed to be playing a bit
> sluggishly.  Upon inspection, I discovered that all of the "quality"
> pneumatic cloth is now full of leaks!

Sadly, that is the thing that all of us are finding out about Player
Piano Company's goods.  Often after we rebuild something (often staking
our reputation upon it) the player suddenly malfunctions.  But often, to
our surprise, is wasn't our workmanship, it was the cloth or valve
material, etc.

I guess I may have been a little too vocal on several occasions about
my dissatisfaction of PPCo goods; some people have became offended at
ma about those type of postings, insisting that Durrell Armstrong is a
very honest man.  I don't doubt their word, but all I can say is this:
it hasn't been my own experience.

Most of the rebuilders whom I know will only order the parts from PPCo
if it is not available from anywhere else.  That trend is increasing.
It's also sad that a place that has been in the business as long as
PPCo has been wouldn't have a better knowledge of what the rebuilder
needs.  If I were a fly on the wall over there in Wichita, I would bet
the farm that sales have dropped drastically in the last five years.
If that's the case, it should be a wake-up call for any businessman
with a grain of sense.

I only have been so vocal about this subject for one reason: to save
the rebuilder some grief and possible embarrassment.  If you explain
to the customer that the cloth you just installed five years ago has
gone bad, it reflects directly on you because "you chose it."  I have
been there, and I ended up redoing work for no other reason than my bad
choice of cloth.  I learned the hard way not to buy their stuff unless
it was an absolute last resort.

Andy Taylor