David, I have done many brass rail replacements. The new ones from Schaff, (now should be known as SchaffApsco<G>), are very nicely done. A couple of downers tho: They cannot get the spacing EXACTLY, but come close enough that a little minor shank "casting" is about all it needs. The other downer: The last rail they did for me came with a complete set of new plates and screws. (that's the good part) The screws were way too long! I brought this to their attention and was told "that's all we can get currently". ! Yikes! What to Do? I used all of the old screws w/new plates and it came out fine. Replacing with standard Butts/Flanges is an exercise that requires some special jigs in order to get all the geometry correct. It is doable and I've done a few, as well. It is more labor intensive, (read more expensive), and I much prefer that to the brass rails, especially for top notch pianos like Knabes. That decision should be left up to the client, because of the cost. Since the piano is going somewhere, where decent service may not be available, I would do either new rails or the conversion, to be on the safe side. IF, the rails were in ok condition, (ie no broken tabs), then re-annealing is also appropriate. Carriage House Music, in Oregon City, Oregon, does that sort of thing. Best Regards, Joe Garrett, RPT, (Oregon)
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