Jon Page wrote a cryptic statement about his age:

> 2/13/51  (that's 46); but after working on last player: 87

After returning to graduate school in 1994, I found that I didn't have
the time or -- when it came to the finer valve work -- the expertise to
finish the job of restoring my 1917 Autopiano stack.  I hired a local
well-known Connecticut rebuilder to take over.  He charged the greater of
the two I talked to ($2500 for a complete rebuild), had a waiting list
and was in the business for 40 years, so he must be good!  The only
condition I gave was that there be only hide glue where appropriate, and
no "space-age" materials. I think I made this real plain to him.

After months of work, one day when I stopped in to see what the heck was
taking so long, he told me that the primaries can't be made to work.  He
had re-done them three times and many just won't work.  He said the only
thing to do now was to bypass them.  Feeling deep-down that this was a
cop-out, I agreed.

I wasn't about to suggest to the Pope how to give Mass -- he knew best.
Over a year later, he was done.  He made it very clear that he put in
$10,000.00 of labor, but he'd be gracious and stick to our original
agreement.  What a guy!

The stack work wasn't the tightest. I searched for leaks and it seemed
like it was the stack. The builder explained how the sap lines in old
wood dry up so that a panel simply becomes porous, and there's nothing to
do beyond shellacking and humidifying.

Recently the stack experienced catastrophic failure.  Notes ciphered by
the handful.  Not having the space to work in my temporary Massachusetts
digs, I put out a plea for local rebuilders on the MMD.  Within the many
responses I received from all of you, Jon Page send me his address.  I
removed the stack from my piano, and I met Jon a few weeks later.

Jon and I began to disassemble the stack. It was found that the primary
valves were bypassed in such an invasive manner that it was initially
thought that the channel board would need replacing.  Next the
secondaries were inspected, with PVC-E glue sealing the valve plates to
the valve chest.  What a mess!

Hmmm... let's take a look at a valve.  The inside valves had shiny
facings that had a tacky feel to them.  The outside valves had those
infamous neoprene sponge-rubber facings (we could see them from the
outside).  This system also uses stem grommets to regulate the travel of
the inside valve.  One side didn't have any brass grommet to hold it in
place.  There was just a pink sponge-rubber grommet holding the valve on
one side.  In fact, they all were like that.  This must be the cause of
the mass-failure!

In addition to correcting the slipshod work that had been performed in
Connecticut, Jon helped me correct some major flaws in my Autopiano
player, like pouch wells that weren't deep enough.  Jon noticed that
the primary boards weren't 'true' and ran them through a plainer/joiner
(this was why the other guy couldn't get them going!).

He hand-made patent-leather secondary facings, since PPCo only supplies
the neoprene faced outside valves, did unsolicited work on my spoolbox
motor and sundry adjustments, and a handful of other adjustments and
improvements.

The tracker didn't work well at all, so he took that apart and found that
there were 2 bleeds missing from the bottom pouches that logically should
be there but weren't.  He drilled and installed them, and the tracker
works really snappy now!

Today, the system plays better than it ever did.  It's finally a joy
to play!  I'm grateful for finding Jon Page.  He is a down-to-earth,
personable, innovative, conscientious craftsman that takes the time to
get things right.  (I hope my check cleared, Jon.  ;)

Karl B. Ellison, Ashland, Massachusetts  U.S.A.¶
5/29/62 = 34¶
Guess: 49.9¶
KBEllison@aol.com - http://members.aol.com/kbellison/kbe.html

 [ That's a great story, Karl.  I'm proud that we have techs of Jon's
 [ caliber here with us sharing their expertise.  I hope, too, that
 [ the frustrated tech in Connecticut will join us -- this is a good
 [ place to learn!  (But with all your agony, didn't you age a few
 [ decades, too?  ;)    -- Robbie