I'm not wishing to start a flame war, but Jeffrey Wood made a statement
about resealing the valve seats to the wood.  This much I agree with.
Then he suggested using silicone rubber to seal the lower valve plates
to the wood.  Please do not!  Reseal the valve seats with thick shellac
only.  Let's not mess with silicone in the very sensitive valves of a
Duo-Art piano.  Please!

Eli Shahar
Sonora, Calif.

 [ I guess we can visit this topic again.  Paddy Handscombe wrote in
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/archives/Digests/201103/2011.03.07.07.html 
 [ about using PVA (polyvinyl acetate) adhesive in rebuilding a Pianola.
 [
 [ We assume shellac was originally used to attach the lower valve seat
 [ to the wood because it was the best method available at the time.
 [ Is it really necessary to use shellac?  What advantage over shellac
 [ does a modern adhesive offer for this task?  Will owners who value
 [ originality accept the change to a modern adhesive?  -- Robbie