The story as told to me by A Baldwin rep. in 84 and by the fellow in Chicago who did several sets of these for Baldwin in the early 80's: >From about 81 to 83 Baldwin's buckskin supplier unwittingly "preserved" the buckskin they sold to Baldwin with a chemical which eventually turned it to the texture of sandstone. When I think of corfam, I think of that black crud which crumbles all over and was used before this particular supply of buckskin was put into use. The black stuff doesn't harden up but has tons of friction problems. The hardened buckskin makes noises and has friction problems. Currently Baldwin is still sending out the little buckskin squares and glue in a packet with instructions free of charge if you submit the serial #, but labor hasn't been covered since 93/ the end of the ten year warranty on any given piano affected. The labor, if you don't do this all the time, is something like 13 hours assuming you do both the catchers and the butt buckskins. The labor, if you do this all the time, may still be 10 hours. >From the same period and a little later, some upright damper flanges with little stubs molded in to hold the springs, some batches the stubs break off and the springs work out of position, draining to even look at it. Again Baldwin supplies parts, labor offer depends on warranty period. Best of Luck, Audrey Karabinus, Seattle
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