Hello MMD.  If Randolph Herr's rolls feel a bit spongy after they
are rolled up, maybe that is because the spools are too tight.
I suspect that a lot of edge damage is caused by tight spools.
I completely agree with him about throwing the roll against the
right-hand spool end before playing, but I am very wary of loose
left-hand spool ends.

I deliberately make sure that, when the paper is completely rolled
up (and firmly snuggled up to the right-hand spool end), that there
is about a one millimeter gap between the paper and the left-hand
spool end.  Sometimes this necessitates adding a little circlet of
string around the stem of the left-hand spool end; this essentially
elongates the cardboard core by a millimeter or two.

Alternatively, as is the case for many Aeolian spools, there may be
one or two oval apertures towards the left-hand end of the cardboard
core, along which a steel pin attached to the left-hand spool end
can slide.  A tiny chunk of wood inserted into one or both of these
apertures can limit the travel of the spool end and prevent it from
completely closing on the left-hand side of the roll.  Either of these
procedures is readily reversed if necessary.

I know that some people believe that there should not be any spare
space between the spool ends.  But if the roll is evenly thrown
against the right-hand spool end, what harm can a little gap on the
left do?  It ought to be possible to play the roll without a left-hand
spool end at all; however re-rolling might be a bit difficult !

If Randolph's U.K. Aeolian rolls are tight in their spools but not
damaged, doesn't that destroy the above argument?  Well, they _are_
Beethoven Symphony rolls and perhaps have been played only a few times
since they were cut.  This is not to be taken as sniping at the
purchasers of Beethoven Symphony rolls; I have a lot of them.

John Phillips in Hobart, Tasmania