Joerg Wendel wrote:

> Subject: Bellows Covering Material

> Here in Germany we have also many different materials to cover bellows.
> In our opinion the best for Orchestrions etc. is rubbercloth in different
> thickness.  It starts with thin rubbercloth (0.16 mm) for small bellows
> up to thick doublecloth for pumps.  I think it can be possible to find
> also in USA a fabrik where you can buy direct, it is mostly a question
> of quantity.
>
> I follow now since a long time the discussion about material for
> restauration of mechanical music instruments.  We always have a big stock
> of these materials and can sell them as well.  This is not a business for
> us, it covers more or less our expenses, but through these we are able
> to buy in a quantity where we can get exactly what we need direct from
> the fabrik (some of the items are specially made for us)

For our non-German speakers, the English translation for the word
"Fabrik" above is manufacturer or fabricator.  The only problem I run
into when dealing with manufacturers is they will not do business with
you unless you are buying tens of thousands of whatever.  I suspect this
is not the case in Germany.  America used to be like that.  A manufac-
turer would make what you needed in the amounts you needed.

I, on the other hand, find that when I need a fiber disk made I must
order a minimum of 10,000 -- which is not a problem when it is a few
hundred dollars.  But when you go to larger things like a run of tracker
bar tubing, their minimum is 25,000 feet, of which I still have about
12,000 feet remaining.  It gets into the thousands of dollars for this.

When Durrell Armstrong [Player Piano Co.] had the minimum run of all his
new non-twill hose made, he spent $300,000.00 on it.  I refer to that
gray garbage that is NOT twill covered, and if you use it the way it was
intended to be used it WILL suck itself shut.  At least, every piece I
ever bought did so.

I have my own fiber donuts made for things like standard valve spacers,
Simplex top seats, all manner of precut gaskets, etc.  For what it's
worth, I do sell these items.  I have 15K to 20K of the things and I will
never use them all and I don't have to get Player Piano Co.'s prices for
them.

D. L. Bullock   Piano World   St. Louis