The Leather Supply House now stocks fine rubberised cloth.  The cloth
we stock is the Australian cloth from Rick Alabaster (Australian
Felix and The Orchestrelle Co. Pty. Ltd.).  This cloth is made in small
runs of about 500 meters each per thickness.

The reason for the 500-meter order is that Rick hand picks the base
fabric material for each desired thickness of rubberized cloth.  He has
to buy the fabric in what is called a warp; this consists of a roll of
fabric in a roll of 500 meters.  All of this cloth is specifically made
for the musical instrument industry, not for the raincoat, umbrella or
outdoor awning industry.

We stock this cloth because it is the best cloth available, made to
traditional standards using only 100% cotton base fabric and natural
rubber.  We currently stock 5 thickness of cloth, with more to come
this spring, including some silk based cloth that will be as thin
as .005".

We have been using Rick's cloth for a few years now in our pipe organ
restorations and have been extremely satisfied with it.  All of my
customers that have been using it for years, have also been satisfied
with it.  Schaff has been selling Rick's cloth for some time now, but
not to the hobbyist, and I have heard some complaints about some of
the cloth that they have been shipping out.  I wonder if it is Rick's
cloth?

Schaff acquired the inventory of American Piano Supply Co. (APSCO)
a few years ago, including all of their cloth inventory, and APSCO had
a huge amount of cloth.  Those who have been to the APSCO plant in
Clifton, New Jersey, know what I am talking about.  The place was huge,
with vast amounts of inventory, some new and some old.

Is Schaff selling the APSCO cloth as Australian Felix?  I am not saying
that they are, but they did pay for the APSCO cloth, and I don't think
they are going to scrap many thousands of yards of rubberized cloth
that they paid for.  And how would you know if they did -- wait five
years and see if the cloth fails?

Well, I know I will get flak for this, so I will end here.

Thanks
Mike Madeira - President, Leather Supply House
Garwood, New Jersey
http://www.leathersupplyhouse.com/