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Servicing Aeolian Spinet Player Piano
By Jim Jelinek

I finally have to drop in my two cents about servicing the piano
action on the Pianola spinet from Aeolian.  I have managed to
remove the piano action successfully without removing the upper
player parts; it's simply a matter of taking off the wind motor and
disconnecting the linkages and larger tubes.

There seems to be enough slack in the tracker tubes to allow the
whole spoolbox unit to move out and with this propped out you can
carefully disconnect the action lifters from the keys, remove the
action hold-down screws and lift the action out.  I did this in a
client's home because I had to repair a loose jack flange and another
action problem.  I took the action to my shop and returned a couple
of days later and re-installed same in piano.

If you wish to try to turn this piano action into some Steinway
then don't bother with the job in the first place.  These pianos were
fine for what they were intended but certainly not fine instruments.
If you really wish to be a perfectionist about this Aeolian, then
take the piano into your shop and really dismantle the darn thing.
The effort is not worth the trouble or the money you'll get for doing
it.  There are a lot of these units coming on an age when the players
need rebuilding and not too many of us will even consider the job.

Jim Jelinek - Player Piano Clinic


(Message sent Mon 11 Jan 2010, 18:45:38 GMT, from time zone GMT-0600.)

Key Words in Subject:  Aeolian, Piano, Player, Servicing, Spinet

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