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Luke Myers Werner Auto-Player
By David Dewey

[ Luke Myers wrote in 151124 MMD --

> I am a big fan of the pneumatic players and I am currently
> rebuilding a 1910 Werner Auto-Player that a friendly couple donated
> to my family.  The current issues with it are the pump unit and the
> wind motor.

Luke,  your piano description brings both good news and bad news.
Werner used Schultz player actions.  They are unique to themselves,
and the bottom bellows unit is _not_ compatible with others as there
are controlling components mounted on the pump boards.  If your
upper stack still plays, that's great, as rebuilding the valve units
takes a lot of time, and the parts are very tiny!  The roll motor
also is unique to this brand.  So, I would take up the offers of free
materials.

I will stick my neck out here and suggest for this project you make
a hot glue pot out of an inexpensive small crock pot (check the thrift
stores for one, although Big Lots, etc., often have them new for under
$15).  It will keep the glue fairly close to the 140 degrees F.
temperature it needs.  Mix your glue in a small canning jar that fits
in the pot.  Read the rebuilding articles at Player-Care.com.  Ask for
help when you need it!

Recovering the pumping bellows isn't hard, but it does take some time
and lots of patience.  I think taking the old material off is sometimes
more painful than gluing the new stuff on!  Yes, the roll motor does
take some doing; be careful and document stuff before you take it
apart.  Photographs are really helpful, and measure, measure stuff so
you know how far open the bellows are, so you can glue the new material
so the opening stays the same.

It is much easier to fix what you have than to mix and match parts,
unless they are the same make and model.  Some makers standardized
their components while others were custom-fitted to the particular
make and model of piano.

David Dewey

By the way, my B.A. is in Industrial Arts, very similar to your current
field of study.


(Message sent Thu 26 Nov 2015, 02:25:35 GMT, from time zone GMT-0800.)

Key Words in Subject:  Auto-Player, Luke, Myers, Werner

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