DL Bullock says in 040220 MMDigest:

> This is why I am so extremely disappointed in the quality of Durrell's
> cloths from the 1980s that lasted 6-10 years and failed.  I had the
> brown Aeolian cloth fail within one week.  Durrell said he knew of the
> problem and would replace the 10 yards we had mostly used up but no
> offer to pay to replace the other 8 yards that were on our customer's
> pianos.  This is why I no longer buy Durrell's cloth even though it
> may be perfectly good now.  I just don't know.

You may be right, we should inform each other on problems we've found
in certain materials from certain suppliers.  It was good you told
Durrell of this problem.  Saying nothing to Durrell is the worst thing.
We need to encourage higher quality materials and be willing to pay
more for them if we have to.

In defense of Durrell from my experience, overall I have received
better quality cloth that holds up well from Player Piano Co. than
APSCO or Schaff and the others I've ordered from.  I have been very
satisfied overall with PPCO's cloth quality.

I have on a few occasions in the last 19 years received defective
bellows cloth from PPCo.  However, I think many single out Durrell
unfairly; he "ain't" getting rich off us just like most of us "ain't"
getting rich off our customers.  D.L. is not the only one -- I think
many of us in MMD and elsewhere should let Durrell know we also
appreciate him more than we do.  For 45 years, more than anyone else,
in my opinion, he is responsible for keeping the vintage player piano
business and enjoyment going here in the United States.

What fails most often on newer defective bellows cloth is the rubber
and not the cotton mesh.  I believe it is acceptable to seal bellows
cloth in some cases.  We seal pouches.  There's a flexible rubber
adhesive made by 3M that works great for this and holds up well from
my experience.

I don't see charging the customer again to recover heavy bellows or
"eating the job" as acceptable options in most of these situations.
If the rubber and the cotton mesh have failed, I would re-recover the
bellows.  I don't like applying flexible adhesive on bellows cloth but
there have been times when I've held my nose and done it.

Bill Maguire