[ John McClelland wrote in 130925 MMDigest:

> ... I must opine that I've never seen it in Licensee or Gittens
> produced Weltes.  The only tubing I've seen has been brass (in
> the T100 early machines), rubber and lead.

Thank you, John, for responding.  I suspected as such, but since
I've not inspected any other "untouched" Weltes, I wasn't certain
and certainly did not want to assume.

I notice one supplier sells "reproducing" tubing -- perhaps this is
tubing with a slightly thicker wall to avoid kinking for the drawer
tubing?  I notice mine has a lot of brass elbows, and the diagrams
I have show these, so I will assume that they are factory, and they are
there to guide the tubing to "fold" properly when the drawer is closed.

As to the belly cloth, yes, I am aware of how to make a pattern.
I have thought about using some sheet material, since the cloth does
have to "wrap around" the ends of the stack, etc.  I haven't looked
around yet (this project is long term!) but I am hoping the snap heads
are commonly available.  However, still asking about my finishing
question, is there an edge binding on the belly cloth?  That would seem
to me to be the correct way to "period finish" the edges.

Ah, ivory keytops.  Decades ago I was restoring a Schultz upright player
(yes, the one with the little bellows "pouches" -- that was a project!)
and thought that I wanted to keep an ivory keyboard on it.  Well, not
much was left to work with, so I purchased a set of ivory heads and
tails blanks from Tuner's Supply Co.  (Boy, I miss them, although there
are others who are excellent suppliers to the trade).

Well, after trying to glue two down, I decided that that project was
way too labor intensive and fraught with potential problems so I put
on a modern plastic set.

I still have the little box of ivory.  These are true blanks; just
squares of ivory with unpolished surfaces.  Of course I have no
documentation with them, although I might be able to find a receipt
in my records somewhere from 1977!  Is there any value or market for
these?  I really doubt that I will ever install them on a piano!

Rob Goodale gave a well-thought-out response to the original question.
I would just add, that if you are looking for a craftsperson to do
the keys, Yvonne Ashmore in Grass Valley, California, specializes in
this, and she is very clever, very quality control oriented, _and_ an
all-around nice person!  She has some amazing specialized equipment in
her shop just for key work.  I think you can get info for her, and other
specialists, at the Piano Technician's Guild web site.

Play 'em if ya got 'em!
David Dewey