I think I'll recommend to my friend that he buy the old Laffargue
foot-pumper we saw today.  The case is nicely refinished and the piano
action and player apparently were rebuilt in the last 20 years (it
needs hammers soon).  The exhauster system is nice and tight, and the
player stack is quite peppy, but the airmotor slide valves won't seal !

The airmotor has six pneumatics and three slide valves.  When the
crankshaft rotates the valve slides lift slightly, probably because
something isn't aligned.  Could the thick leather bushings which
attach the slide-wire to the crank be causing the slide-wire to twist?
I couldn't see a twisting motion, but something is sure wrong.  When
I gently pushed down the slider the suction made it seal okay, until
the next cycle.  Any suggestions?

Laffargue S/N 71703, made in Cambridge, Mass.  From the appearance
of the controls I'd guess it was built between 1910 and 1915.  I think
it's a three-tier stack.  When was it built?  Who supplied the player?
It seems to be a good quality instrument.

Robbie Rhodes