•I have just finished carving the first of several Wurlitzer 165 facades that I am constructing. Those of you who are interested can email me and I will send you photos or you can see the lecture at the upcoming MBSI annual meeting. The Wurlitzer 165 facade attaches to the case via hinges that are c...

•Well over 50 years ago, I had a set of badly-corroded metal valve seats. My mentor, Mr. George Binder (who once worked at Aeolian American), always had the troublesome corroded brass valve seats nickel plated. I was young at the time and did not have the funds for nickel plating, but tried somethin...

•Another good machinist in addition to those mentioned by Matthew Caulfield is Ralph Schultz (tel. 1-952-873-6704). Ralph has over twenty years experience working with mechanical musical instruments and specializes in the repair and restoration of music boxes and tower clocks. He is perfectly capabl...

•Hi. I have a Philipps Pianella fitted with a roll changer. Dale Rowe suggests that the original Philipps examples were fitted under a shelf. Mine is fitted above and fixed to a shelf. There is no structure above it apart from the separate xylophone which is some inches higher than the top of the ch...

•[ Ref. 140503 MMDigest, Seeburg G at New Jersey Auction Thanks, Mikey, for the kind words. I've provided a link for more details on the G restoration and all videos. Over the years I have collected all of the matching glass for the G. I had replaced 70% on the unit listed. We did everything in hous...

•Don, Please let us know how that works. I have my doubts, as pot metal deteriorates along the atomic structure alloy lines. There are many theories as to the cause of this self-destruction, most popular one is the presence of lead in the alloy. It takes very little to cause the issue, although I th...

•Hi, I'm just curious about this method of saving pot metal parts, for two reasons. First, I understood that the deterioration of pot metal parts was from some sort of internal 'corrosion', due to minute contamination of the original materials. That suggests to me that 'sealing' the part with a surf...

•I recently moved to San Antonio. Can anyone refer me to a player piano technician in the area? I have a Marshall & Wendell reproducing grand with an Ampico A mechanism. On a different topic, please share with me experiences on having a piano case refinished. I would like to have only the exterior c...

•Hi, I have five grand and four upright reproducing pianos to sell. - 6' Rare Black Grotrian Steinweg Hupfield Triphonola, 68 rolls and brand new test roll cut from original. Pedal and electric, unrestored. - 5'8" Weber Duo-Art - 5'8" J&C Fischer Ampico - 5'8" Welte Autograph (2 pianos) - 1916 Weber...

•Hello MMDers, Does anyone have any experience in getting metal pipes renewed? I have a 25-year-old 20-note Hofbauer crank organ that, I feel, needs the pipes re-plated somehow. They look like they are black underneath the "brass" plating; these being made from a 1988 Hofbauer kit. I would certainly...

•Doug, et al, I didn't mean to imply that the Kimball was a bad player, just that it had more possible problems than the Cable, and of the two deals, if I were in the marketplace for one, I would go for the Cable over the Kimball. I thought the molded "accordion" bellows were used elsewhere too, lik...

•[ Bob Oppenheim wrote in 160325 MMDigest: > Generally, we associate this type of art with churches and very > elegant homes. Why mechanical music? I'm not an expert on this but I would guess that the purpose is to provide a colorful, lighted display in order to attract attention and paying customer...

•Following up from MMD 2016-03-04-08 regarding the Estate of Tony Marsico, the following items have not been sold and are now free for the taking. Items must be out of the house by May 30, 2016. Contact me if you have any questions. - 5'-8" J&C Fischer Ampico, all parts there, needs complete rebuild...

•Walt Gerber wrote, "The pedal frame and rod are un-repairable." Uh, Walt, the frame is primarily cosmetic, holding the mat down. It could easily be brazed back together, or even left as-is. Of course, if you braze it, you'll need to re-plate the frame _or_ paint it with silver-chrome paint, as plat...

•Don Barton asks how to get rid of verdigris in a Steinway piano action. You might start with an Internet search of what causes verdigris. It is a big problem for player technicians as well as Steinway technicians and has been debated over and over. It is a chemical reaction between acid fumes in th...

•My Coinola Reproduco is being parted out or sold as is. I bought this piano for its top board (pump, motor, and spool box) which I needed for another project. The rest is all there. The previous owner disassembled the stack and cleaned its parts. The parts seem to be complete. He spent $1,200 on pl...

•I already have a nice operating Reproduco. Let's call it Reproduco #1. It's the type that plays easily changeable rolls like a player piano. These are essentially OS and NOS rolls that have been cut into halves or thirds. I bought Reproduco #2 for its top front board, vacuum pump, motor, and nickel...

> Author: Robert Van Sickle at CCGTWINT > Date: 11/2/95 7:17 PM > I am re-working an eight tune, drum style music box for a lady. The > problem is that 75% of the 4300 pin actuators are bent over or broke ... > The inside of the drum was coated with > aprox. 1/4 inch of something, to firm up around ...

Robbie Rhodes: Thanks for your prompt reply. I'm presently making a set of bells for my North Tonawanda band organ, which plays Wurlitzer 150 rolls. The bells on the Wurlitzer organs are struck at the ends, as are the organs made by Don Stinson. There is a dissonant transient produced when the bell ...

Couple weeks ago, I posed a question in an appeal for advice on how to clean the escutcheon plates on an Ampico A drawer I'm working on. In the past I had modest success with Brasso, followed by soap and water. This time, the piano I'm working on is particularly dirty and the buildup of scum and cru...