Thomas Henden writes:

> As I'm going to change the pneumatic cloth on my pneumatics, I discover
> that the new cloth has a very "dry" surface, and is stiff when glued on
> the pneumatics. snip
> The penumatics are not completely airtight, and are stiffer than the
> old ones, although much more airtight than them. Some of the stiffness
> seems to be "softened" by opening and closing the penumatics several
> times.
> Has this cloth been stored by the manufacturer for several years, or is
> this normal?  Should  I send a sample of the cloth back, and complain?

In my opinion, anytime you are not satisfied with a product, you should
attempt to get your money back.  However, in this case, it may be very
difficult to prove that the material is "defective".  Most, if not all,
pneumatic cloth "leaks" to some degree (although very small in terms of
percentages).  The fact that the pneumatics "soften" when "worked" or
creased is only natural.  The crease in the material provides a "path of
least resistance" as opposed to a flat, uncreased face.  There are some
who say that creasing a striker pneumatic will shorten it's life and I
am inclined to agree.  Therefore, the answer would seems to lie with the
use of a softer cloth.

Recently, I started buying my striker pneumatic cloth from Player Piano
Co.  Their "kangaroo" cloth is quite a bit softer than Schaff's or
APSCO's cloth.  My wife, Pandora, who builds all the striker pneumatics,
says it's very easy to work with because it is "more supple and
forgiving" than the harder cloths.

Musically, John¶
•---------------------------------------------------------------------------
John A Tuttle "Self-Playing Pianos"    E-mail:tuttleja@concentric.net
407 19th Avenue                             908-840-8787 (leave message)
Bricktown, NJ 08724               Rolls:1-800-870-8784 (leave order)
"We Keep Your Music Rolling"  http://www.concentric.net/~tuttleja/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------