Hi All,  Some of you may recall an article written a couple of years
ago by Damon Atchison in which he asked about using felt to limit the
throw of striker pneumatics.  I had responded that, although it wasn't
a common practice, there were indeed companies that made player actions
without a stop rail.  To keep the pneumatics from collapsing all the
way and limiting the throw, they installed felt squares or circles
inside of the pneumatic.  I also recall taking a bit of heat for that
posting.

Over the past two days I've been in contact with a gentleman who is
rebuilding an Aeolian/Trayser player action.  The action does not have
a stop rail and there are small felt squares inside of the pneumatics
as explained above.

Also, in doing a little research, I discovered that the Starr company
installed felt squares inside of their valve/pneumatic blocks too.

What I'm certain every player rebuilder must be thinking is: How do
you prevent the player action from causing the hammers to block the
strings?  Answer: Choose the thickness of the felt very carefully and
place it so that it allows the pneumatic to close just the right
amount.  As Craig Brougher might say: "Test, test, test."  ;-)

Musically,

John A. Tuttle