Replies

1. 
   forestgirl | Sep 19, 2002 05:43am | #1

   Ken, I've toted musical instruments around for decades, and felt has been the material of choice for this purpose -- clarinets, guitars, flutes, etc., etc., as far as I know.  What's making you think a change is in order?  (Just curious)

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   KenCoe1 | Sep 19, 2002 06:51pm | #4

   Thanks for your reply. I am not saying standard felt will not work. The material I am searching for, might be a little better for this application. The standard felt that I have seen, 1/4" thick , is pretty easy to rip, compress and come apart. Maybe you are talking about something different than this.

1. 
   forestgirl | Sep 19, 2002 07:03pm | #5

   I'd suggest following the links above and seeing what might be different about the felt those suppliers stock.  I'd be leary of using something that's "rubbery" in feel, dunno why, just am.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

2. 
   DWRead | Sep 19, 2002 07:26pm | #6

   Some synthetics degrade unpredictably. The last thing you want is cushioning that gradually turns sticky!

   Wool felt also degrades, of course, but you know what to expect: Color fading, loss of elasticity (especially if sun-damaged), and clothes moths. Wool felt will last a long time if kept out of direct sunlight.

   We used to put mothballs in the piano but haven't for the past twenty years. Now the piano is forty-three years old and was just examined by a piano technician. The wool is still in fine shape.

3. 
   SawdustSteve | Sep 20, 2002 02:53am | #7

   Ken... You may have come across a thick felt backing that was covered in billiard table cloth.  Billard Table cloth will have that rubbery feeling to it.

   SawdustSteve

1. 
   KenCoe1 | Sep 21, 2002 12:36am | #8

   SawdustSteve, You might be right. I'm pretty sure what I thought it was, is not available anywhere. The only thing that I'm wondering about with that possibility, is how would you wrap the underlying thick felt and not have any visible folds at the corners and no bunching up underneath. Thanks for the info.

2. 
   kahanj | Sep 19, 2002 07:27am | #2

   I have to agree with Forest Girl:  Felt pretty much makes the music world go round.  With that reality in mind, here's a URL for a company that appears to stock every imaginable form of felt for musical applications -- http://www.bostonfelt.com/index.html

   Jeff

3. 
   MikeIke | Sep 19, 2002 04:58pm | #3

   A resource you might find kind of neat, is Luthier's Mercantile. They are a supplier of parts, woods, tools, etc. for stringed instrument makers. Their link is:

   http://lmii.com/

   Good luck-  Ike