Jody said I should introduce myself.  I do pneumatic player
rebuilding, upright piano rebuilding, and reed organ rebuilding.
I also do PianoDisc installation and repair for several dealers
and replace Steinway brass action rails for other technicians.

I started piano work in 1969 and worked part time at piano work
until I quit farming in 1994 when I turned to full time piano work.
While farming I operated the family farm in East Central Illinois.
We had 800 acres of corn and soybeans.  I built several of my own
farm implements including a 52-foot field cultivator.  Mine is a
one-person shop that is located on the farm and I do help out on
the farm some at the busy time of the year.  I am a mechanic not
a musician!

John Dewey


 [ Ever since I met him in 1984, John has been reliable source of advice
 [ and encouragement.  He was one of the first persons to humor me in
 [ my interest in reading rolls into the computer, and helped me to get
 [ my first spool frame for that purpose.  When I started reading rolls
 [ optically, he suggested we build a vacuum table in his longest farm
 [ building to lay damaged rolls upon.  Damaged, fragile rolls could
 [ be repaired while rolled out (perhaps 50 or more feet at a time),
 [ and then scanned with a scanner that straddled the roll and rode
 [ down an angle-iron track.  Now that John is more-or-less retired
 [ from farming I hope that this project eventually happens.
 [
 [ John has used computers actively in farming since 1982, when
 [ he bought his first Apple 2+ so that he could use the Visi-Calc
 [ spreadsheet to predict and optimize farm profits.  Being generous
 [ with his time, he ran workshops at the local library to teach other
 [ farmers in the area how to use the computer as a business tool.
 [ I always figured that if he got on-line he'd share rebuilding ideas
 [ with us.  After years of nagging, I'm delighted to see John finally
 [ get on-line and join us.    -- Jody