To Bob Stewart:  I have absolutely no idea of how a bit of mercury
could find its way into any kind of Ampico pedal regulator.  Maybe
someone thought the piano was sick, stuck in a thermometer to see
if it had a fever, and the thermometer broke :)

Whatever, I am reminded of an experience I had many years ago
involving a customer's Krakauer upright piano built in New York and
containing a German-built "Red" Welte action.  I took out the top
player action and laid it face down on the carpet to inspect the
pneumatics.  When I set the action upright I discovered a puddle of
mercury on the carpet.

It turned out that the electric switch used a casting with an open
well containing about two cubic centimeters of mercury.  A small
carrot-shaped plunger went into the mercury to complete the motor
circuit.  Well, we managed to retrieve most of the mercury and get
it back into the switch.  The rest went into the vacuum cleaner.

Later when I cleaned out the dust under the keys, I found a little
more mercury, which probably found its way there as the piano was being
moved.  That too went into the vacuum.  Back then we didn't know any
better.

After I got the piano working, whenever the motor shut off, there would
be a big blue spark and a tiny wisp of "smoke" -- no doubt containing
mercury vapor -- emanating from the switch.  It makes me wonder how many
early Welte-Mignon owners suffered from "Mad Hatter" syndrome...

Bob, your inquiry raises a question in my mind.  What, exactly, is an
Ampico B upright?  I know that some of the less expensive late Ampico B
grands didn't have all the B features.  In particular, I remember a
small 1930's Weber (sic) Ampico grand having a B drawer with all the
woodwork finished in black lacquer (though the piano was mahogany),
and a lot of "A" stuff under the soundboard.

Is there such a thing as a Ampico B upright with the capacity to play
program ("Jumbo") rolls, having a B tracker bar and expression,
electric roll drive, ball unit valves and all the other B features?
Or do you mean something like the spinet Ampico?

Jeffrey R. Wood