Hi All,  I love the TV show "How'd They Do That" and it got me thinking
about the Lauter-Humana air motor.  Early in my career I was hired to
rebuild one of these unique 'pouch-type' motors.  It was a bear because
I didn't have the right tools for the job, so I made something that
I've been using ever since.

The two tools are a bit difficult to explain, but basically one tool
is like a pouch setter (without the outside 'lip') and the other is
like the 'lip'.  I tried making a regular pouch-setting tool that did
the whole job simultaneously but found that getting the cloth set to
exactly the right position was very difficult because I couldn't see
the outside edge of the material.

The pouch half of the tool is one of those old glass 'cups' that were
(and maybe still are) used in mail rooms for wetting stamps.  (You
remember -- it had a little sponge that fit into the bottom that was
saturated with water.)  To accommodate the connecting pin that goes
through the center of the air motor pouch, I burned a hole through the
center of the cup with a white-hot metal poker.  (I didn't have any
drill bits that would cut through thick glass).

The 'lip' tool is simply a one-pound coffee can that was cut down and
then flared 1/4" on one end.  It's the perfect diameter for the job.

In this case, I think the pictures explain the tools much better than
I can, so I'll just let them 'speak'.

Musically,

John A. Tuttle

 [ Thanks, John, I'll place the photos and your article at the
 [ MMD Pictures site, http://mmd.foxtail.com/Pictures/  -- Robbie