I have a response to the concern expressed about introducing
unnecessary material (PPCo 320 sealant) around the capstans of a piano
to lock them in place.  I always set up the piano actions correctly
before having my old player pianos professionally tuned.  After tuning,
I have to go back over the capstans again to take out the lost motion
resulting from the tuning.  It is without a doubt the finger playing of
a piano that causes these capstans to retreat.

We have to understand that we are in many cases working with wood that
is 80-100 years old and it is not going to grip like it did when the
wood was new.  Once these piano capstans turn and retreat in the wood,
the piano action is going to be resting on the player action capstans
and then your player and piano keys are not going to work right.

Of course, no piano manufacturer is going to make piano keys with
locking devices on the capstans -- we all understand that they need to
be adjustable.  What also must be understood is that the plastic
sealant is not like welding them in place.  They are still very
adjustable, up or down if needed in the future.

I know that there are many "died in the wool" purists out there.  My
theory, though, on purism is that no one really cares about purism
except the purist.  What the customer really wants and expects and
deserves is a lasting job and I believe this outweighs any apprehension
about introducing unnecessary material into a piano.

Larry Schuette
Raymond, Nebraska