My cents worth for those of us who still play old rolls on reproducing
pianos.  I think the Duo-Art is the worst offender in 'eating' fragile
old rolls, in the grands, as the 'angle' the paper traverses over the
tracker is more severe than in drawer or upright spool boxes.

I and my friend Phil Collier agree that, while some old rolls play fine
and seem not to have lost strength of the paper, that long periods of
storage, humidity, and rolls put away unevenly wrapped/tensioned, can
result in very crooked paper which tracks with difficulty even when the
tracker ears, of whatever type, are adjusted and tracker mechanism
functioning properly.  This is validated by the comparatively rare
tracking problems of new (i.e., less than 25 years old) re-issued or
new rolls.  It is a disappointing experience to witness a cherished
performance self-destruct on rewind.

So, our suggestion is on fragile rolls, set your reroll speed as slow
as seems reasonable, tension the take-up spool brake _very_ gently, if
at all, and 'baby sit' the rewind and be prepared to stop, and manually
assist, if the edges start touching the spool end -- typically on the
left side.  A few moments to safeguard a favorite but tired recording
is well spent if a re-issue is not available, or you wish to avoid the
tedious and seldom satisfactory repair.

A final thanks, in this regard, to the many sources since Harold
Powell, Frank Adams, and others who provide accurate and "safe to play"
re-issues so those of us who still immerse ourselves in the music from
original rolls can continue to do so indefinitely, without challenging
our blood pressure on rewind!

Roy Matson