I basically agree with D.L. Bullock on the use of new materials, but
I feel that the pendulum can swing too far in either direction.  Using
traditional materials sounds like the way to play it safe, but a client
for whom I rebuilt a player for over 20 years ago now has a stack with
pneumatics too stiff to play because the thin rubberized cloth I used
has hardened.

Because this subject needs specific information and not generalities,
I like to read the MMD Archives to find out where to get leather and
cloth, and people who do not read this material are taking more of
a chance than they have to.  It might be a good idea to have a site
dedicated to this kind of information, because it is so important.

That being said, I might as well open up a hornet's nest when I get to
this part of my letter: When gluing pneumatics back onto a deck, how
would you like to have a glue with the following characteristics:
It has been tested for over 30 years with no failures that I have ever
heard of, it is cheap and readily available, the pneumatic will never
come off on its own, yet when you try to remove it, it comes off
perfectly, (like Aeolian pneumatics with their thin leather gasket),
and the glue is easily removable from the deck and pneumatic.

Well, this glue is GE [General Electric] Silicone rubber!  Let me
quickly say that GE makes two products, called Silicone 1 and Silicone 2.
I have had bad experiences with #2 when it does not cure properly and
then becomes a nightmare to undo.  With #1, I have never had a problem.

GE makes Silicone #1 only in white and clear.  I use my finger to rub
a thin layer of rubber on both the pneumatic and the deck, and then
I align it and clamp for a few hours.  When it has to be removed,
I have a putty knife of very thin metal, and it removes the pneumatic
perfectly, and any rubber left on the pneumatic or the deck can be
rolled off as though it were rubber cement.  It really does work
perfectly.  If anyone out there has had a bad experience with it,
I would like to know the details.

Incidentally, let's all agree on some terminology: Silicon is an
element, and used in computer chips.  Silicone is countless different
things, and so it is pretty much whatever you say it is.  There are
silicone oils, waxes, greases, aerosol cans called silicone lubricant
and so on.  There are also probably many non-GE caulking products that
have the word silicone in their names.  I am only referring to GE
Silicone Rubber #1, which is probably the easiest to obtain.

Randolph Herr

 [ The GE silicone product selection pages <whew!> start at
 [ http://www.gesilicones.com/gesilicones/am1/en/category/prod_category_selection.jsp 
 [ -- Robbie