•Hi All, Even though I've worked on literally thousands of player pianos and read every service manual I could get my hands on, I have never yet come up with or read an accurately descriptive explanation of how to adjust the forward roll or rewind friction brakes. The question is: How Tight Is Just ...

•I had a piano many years ago with a pneumatic rewind friction brake. When you shifted to rewind a little pneumatic collapsed, pressing a pad against the take up spool. Such a fancy mechanism for a simple task. If I recall correctly, the action was a Kindler and Collins. The piano was a Needham. Eri...

•It does not really matter how many numbers you can read on the tension of friction brakes. What the factory did does not matter, either. It is not the same today after 80 years of playing, or even 80 years of sitting there not being played. Also, you certainly do not want the factory's tension on t...

•An old player rebuilder back in New Jersey once told me to adjust the brake so that it's "tight enough to be loose, and loose enough to be tight". I got the idea. Arthur Marino

•Hi All. Well, on the brake tension thing, I repeat myself: In 40 years of having upright players I _always_ remove the lower brake and I never tear a roll. Unless you rewind very slowly, any friction from a lower brake, unless you rewind very slowly, will tear a brittle roll. You can tighten the ro...

•I recently told of my technique of oiling these felt brakes [MMD 050630, "Adjusting Music Roll Spool Friction Brakes"]. It seems I definitely overstated what I do. I used the word "saturated with oil or grease." Someone wrote with concern that oil would sling all over the piano. Of course it would...

•Regarding the hesitation problem when playing large rolls on your Weaver, Standard action player there are two things you might want to check, either one of which could be contributing to your problem: the upper and lower transmission brakes and the spring tension on your idler pulley. What you cal...

As Les Smith's first reply suggested, your problem is probably in the upper or lower brake pressure. The slippage problem does easily occur toward the end of band organ rolls, unless the tensions of the two brakes are adjusted just right--and this takes some fine tuning to accomplish. The difference...

•-- forwarded message, please reply to sender and MMD -- I too have a 15" Polyphon with no dampers, and like that of Wayne Finger, it does have brakes. Unfortunately it is now in storage in New York, so at this time I cannot compare it with the picture sent by Mr. Finger. Experts who looked at mine ...

•Per your question about large rolls slipping during play, what was recommended to me worked well for me. Many times the spool brakes are disengaged so that the rolls will not tear. Readjusting the supply spool brake stopped my issue during recording longer rolls. Best regards, Dave Haibach ...

•People who have been following the discussion on preventing roll slippage may find it interesting to see all the articles that have been written and stored in the MMD Archives; look under Brake and Brakes: http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/KWIC/B/brake.html http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/KWIC/B/br...

•Our cart, made by Odin in France, has three wheels, no suspension and no brakes, and it works very well. It also has solid rubber tires. You might think this makes for a rough ride, but actually does not. The organ generally is pushed along streets and sidewalks, and we just avoid (or go slowly) th...

•I believe the issue with the Ampico B brake drums may be more with the finish of the material and not the material itself. Many years ago I commissioned several "play brakes" (the ones on the supply spool axle) make from aluminum, but with an anodized black finish, which is very hard and smooth. Th...

•For sale: Trailer, 18' "Vendor" style, currently set up to travel with and display a Wurlitzer 105 band organ and a calliope. The trailer has dual torsion axles and electric brakes, the interior is wired, paneled, carpeted and partitioned for a "potty room". Photos available upon request. Bob Oppen...

•For sale: I am selling my Wurlitzer 104/105 made for rentals for all occasions. This unit is trailer mounted with a Honda generator with low hours. Trailer has surge brakes, with all LED lighting. A very sweet sounding organ. Contact me for more details. Robert Stanoszek rms878@gmail.com.geentroep ...

re: Steve Harris watching several rolls self-destruct on his Steinway Duo-Art....... Sounds more like a piano problem than a roll problem. Is your tracker aligned properly? Is your automatic tracker pneumatic AIR TIGHT? Are your brakes too tight? Is your transmission binding? Old rolls tend to warp ...

At 09:53 PM 1/18/96 PST, you wrote: > To: rolls@foxtail.com > Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 02:01:54 -0500 (EST) > From: Les Smith > > Subject: Large Roll Problem > > Regarding the hesitation problem when playing large rolls on your > Weaver, Standard action player there are two things you might want > to ...

[ Forwarded by Robbie Rhodes: Hi, Jack. Robbie Rhodes sent me your recent notes regarding scanning music box disks, and it piqued my interest. I have a few suggestions that might be helpful. First, however, I hope you can clear up a point for me about nomenclature. I know that historically we have ...

•I think I am beginning to see what you are saying (asking). While one can in theory make a round metal or square or rectangular wooden pipe that have similar characteristics, in reality the end result when you compare them is similar in sound, but also different. This could be the result of the sha...

•In MMD 000126 D. L. Bullock wrote: > My organ teacher, Joyce Jones, played a concert in Notre Dame > Cathedral before the latest organ rebuild and reported that when you > pressed the key you waited about 11 seconds before you heard sound. Unfortunately, sound (i.e., the air pressure fronts of the ...