•Hello all comb repair enthusiasts: I have been reading about some attempts to replace teeth in musical combs and the thought of using glue. I say go ahead and try it but then be prepare to do it all over again properly. You need good tight, solid metal-to-metal contact between the new tooth and the...

•In 031001 MMDigest, Larry Wilson asked about repairing a Gem Roller Organ. Well, Larry, I have the answer to your problems and your prayers. Go to Todd Augsburger's web page (www.rollerorgans.com) and buy a copy of his book: Roller Organs - The Autophone Company's "Ingenious Mechanism". In it you w...

•1. Yes. 2. The 'patches' are called flap valves, and yes, the air from the bellows is evacuated through them. They must create a tight seal on the intake phase of the cycle in order to have a vacuum. You must glue down the ends of the valves, or replace them if the leather is too porous to make a g...

•> Do any of you music lovers know how or where I can get the > main spring of my Thorens repaired? Wow -- that's a tough one. I would start by addressing the following people, but no promises: 1. Nancy Fratti, of Panchronia Antiquities, deals with antique music boxes, restoration and supplies. I do...

•I have a couple of Duo-Art rolls where the bridges of long chain perforations have become folded or crumpled so that the hole (and the roll) seems to be narrower than it should be. Has anyone else faced and solved this problem? I might try the steam iron approach but thought I would ask before doin...

•David Sharpe asked about repairing rolls where a long bridge has collapsed. I've seen the same problem on a few rolls and in most cases have seen that if it collapsed in one place, it will continue down the roll and collapse in several more. I've tried to repair several rolls by strengthening the s...

•I have collected and repaired reproducing piano rolls since 1951. In the early days I discovered that 3M "Scotch" clear adhesive tape always ruined rolls eventually. Now I am sure that "Magic Mending Tape" will ruin a roll, whether it is too stiff for the old paper or if it oozes out the side to st...

•Greetings. I often have to repair rolls prior to scanning. Although there are many methods, a couple which I have discovered are the following: For repairing broken bridges without causing false repeats, narrow charting tape can be used. I am not sure if it is made of plastic of some sort or a heav...

•That is not a bad price you are asking [$500]. I was a dealer for these pianos in those days, and that one cost me approximately $1000 wholesale. I am wondering if replacement valves are available. The original valves were made of plastic and would be tough to repair, although I can conceive of a w...

•Nothing could be worse than being cooped up inside on a beautiful spring day, repairing ripped rolls. Here is a novel solution. Did you know that your car hood is an excellent work surface to repair rolls? It is higher than a table and the curved fender is ideal to lean over to inspect critical dam...

•-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD -- To my helpful friends at MMD -- I got a PianoLodeon at an auction. It is a child's upright player piano made by J. Chein of Burlington, New Jersey. The case measures 22" wide by 21" high and it plays a 6-3/4" roll, of which I have five. It appear...

•Having rebuilt a few Tanzbars and as a regular Tanzbar player may I offer my advice on this subject? The Tanzbar roll is made of thin manila card and is shellacked to make it strong enough to hold down the keys. These keys directly operate the pallets which sit over the reed cavities. One problem i...

•-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD -- In the recent years I found some threads for Lindner pianos in this forum. The broken key clips seems a common problem and most Lindners are now at an age where they are rapidly disintegrating (even without using them.) The same with my Lindner o...

•Hi all, Kim Bunker here from http://www.playerpianos.com/ When I started in the player rebuilding business it was with my partner, Mr. Thomas Sheen. Tom is well known in the A.T.O.S. (American Theater Organ Society) as a theater organist with several known recordings. Over many years Tom and his go...

•I will attempt to explain the approach I use when presented with the problem described by Eli. First I want to confess that I am not completely familiar with the terminology Eli uses but I think I understand his problem. The tools that I use most frequently in roll repair are 1. A roll repair jig w...

•Often the "extended notes" which are so prevalent in Ampico rolls cause the paper to be weak, and long tears can occur through the chain-bridge perforations. These are difficult to repair because a tape reinforcement will cause that note to repeat. In desperate cases, go ahead and make the repair i...

•John Phillips refers to using a Teflon sheet for iron-on roll repair, particularly bridges. What is this "Teflon sheet"? Paul Eggert Fountain Hills, Arizona [ John wrote in MMDigests 991124 & 000313: "These days I make my [ bridging tape out of an iron-on tissue. It's a bit fiddly to use [ because ...

•-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD -- I started using my reproducing Ampico baby grand about this time last year after a ten-year hiatus. I found that many of my rolls had problems, the worst of which was "bridge disease". I found an old article by Tom Lear in MMD of 2000.01.24.12 wh...

•I wrote an article about roll splits a year ago and re-read it and still feel this the best permanent way [031106 MMDigest, Repairing Folded Music Rolls]. If one inserts a mesh on the top or underneath the paper roll when one rolls it up it will cause a slight lump and this will become part of the ...

•In July of this year I finally got my Dynavoice back on the piano and played some rolls. I was pleased to find that the mesh tape repaired rolls that had been rolled up for several years played just fine. The mesh was still pliable and did not cause any problems going over the bar. For others wishi...