[ Brenton Jenkins wrote in 040221 MMDigest:

> Can someone please point me in the right direction as to where
> to purchase reliable motor and pneumatic cloth?  I have purchased
> from three different places in Australia; all have failed early.

I have read articles on the quality and problems of modern bellows
cloth, and have come to the conclusion that many modern materials are
simply poor quality.  The notion that modern day pollution, sulfur,
chemicals within our homes are to blame for premature failure does not
hold true.

The reason I say this is: The rubber coating on the _original_
pneumatics of our Seeburg which dates from 1921 is still soft and
pliable.  The cloth backing recently gave out after 83 years.  The
Seeburg has been in the same location for over 40 years, and exposed
to the same air as the new materials that failed in a very short time.

The amplifier pneumatic within our 1929 Ampico, is still original in
place, soft, and does not leak.  I have decided to leave this pneumatic
original until it tests for leakage.

Why, then, is rubber cloth that I installed a few years ago failing
badly while the original bellows cloth that remains within the two
pianos is still perfectly good after 75-80 years?  If impurities in the
air are blamed for early deterioration, why didn't the very old and
original materials deteriorate too?

I recently ordered bellows material from Organ Supply Industries (OSI)
in Erie, PA, and specified Felix cloth imported from Australia.  This
cloth looks very nice, and I have high expectations, but only time will
tell.

Bruce Clark