•One repair I heard of for warped keys is to secure the key in a vise, then hang a clamp, Vise-Grip pliers or the like in such a way as to twist the key straight. You then carefully play a hot air gun or torch on the key. Not sure if it works, but it's worth a try. Philip Jamison West Chester, Penns...

•Hi Chris and Y'all, Glad to hear that you inherited your grandparents player piano roll collection. I love to hear that these things stay in a family. Sorry to hear that the rolls are not all in the best of shape. I put out a guide to roll repairs that I provide free with purchase of my document on...

•Greg, Although I don't own a "Musical Casket" like yours, I can still make some educated guesses about your instrument: The "large rectangular opening" you mention is where a manually operated swell shutter would have originally gone. The wood blocks are part of its hinge mechanism, possibly spring...

•I have a minor problem compared to those generally mentioned here. My beloved Hamilton piano (Baldwin's "school line" of uprights) has a marvelous sound and new keytops. It's nicely tuned at present. But (and I knew this when I bought it) the action needs some work. The hammer felts are hard and ca...

•-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD -- I have purchased my first roller organ and it is in need of some repairs. I have looked at most web sites and information on the Internet but most of the repair info is for vacuum organs. At this time I have determined that mine is an earlier mod...

•[ Olie K. Teeter, Jr., wrote in 051007 MMDigest: > I can't find anything that tells me who made it or when. ... Olie, There should be a significant amount of information about your new organ on my web site devoted to Roller Organs. To help you with identification, there are specific pictures at: ht...

•Hi All, I'm only writing this posting because I've encountered a few seriously bad air motors in the past year and all of them had been "rebuilt". While the cloth was in excellent shape, they all leaked like a sieve. Also, the task of selling the repair job to the customer was complicated by the fa...

•[ Ref. 060616 MMD, "Seek Piano Plate for Link Orchestrion"] > I'm told welding is not practical. Much to contrary belief, broken plates _can_ be repaired, and quite successfully. Beware if you attempt to install another piano into the Link case, for the alteration will be permanent and the authenti...

•The welding of cast iron is very much an art, and there are people who have surprising skill at it. They're not easy to find, and some persistence is necessary: you basically have to lug your afflicted plate from one welding or machining outfit to the next, searching out the grizzled old craftsman ...

•This torch is by far the best to use for repair welding on most metals but is great for cast iron: http://www.cobratorches.com/ You may be able to contact them for some leads to restorers of car and airplane motors or steam/early engines. They all use the torch for cast iron repair. I have used it ...

•I find it fascinating that the repair of cast iron provokes such a divergence of opinion across a group of uniformly fine craftsmen. I have found this to be the case not only in piano work, but with the people who restore old machinery as well. It's always been controversial, apparently. I've got a...

•I have seen old photos of cast iron steam engines being repaired. The technique involved an asbestos tent and a charcoal fire to preheat the entire casting to around 500 degrees. Then the previously ground-out crack was brazed with an acetylene torch, peened, and allowed to cool _very_ slowly. I sa...

•Repairing veneer that has never been repaired is certainly easier than repairing veneer that someone has already tried to repair that has failed, or you would not need to do it again. If you are repairing veneer on a piano that has never been repaired, then look closely at the glue that was origina...

•Hi, I just purchased a 14-note Melodia organette, made by Gately, and found that it has one broken brass reed. This reed is marked C# and is the fourth reed from the lowest note. Can anyone recommend someone who could repair this, or possibly have a replacement reed? Thanks, Greg Farmer ...

•-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD -- Hello, do you know how to repair a Sankyo music box for a doll? It is for one that has a pull cord. Thank you, Kimberly Murray cheapnreliable@cox.net.geentroep [delete ".geentroep" to reply]

•-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD -- Colleagues, I have a Piano Melodico that needs some restoration (or could be for sale). The rubber rollers which pull the cardboard music books through need repair or replacement. Any suggestions on getting new rubber rollers? Thanks. Arnim Whisl...

•-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD -- Hello, I write to you from Mar del Plata, Argentina. My name is Abel Aguilera, I am a piano tuner-technician. Please, I need your help in the following matter. I bought a Melodant Angelus Cabinet [push-up player] and I need your help to be able t...

•-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD -- I need to repair the electrical connection for my Lador musical Christmas tree stand. The cup is frozen to the shaft and I cannot remove it. Does anyone have experience working on this item? The repair cannot be made unless the cup can be removed...

•> I need to repair the electrical connection for my Lador musical > Christmas tree stand. The cup is frozen to the shaft and I cannot > remove it. Hi, Dissimilar metals stuck together. There's probably some corrosion between them, so -- I'd wrap some aluminum foil around the part below the cup to k...

•-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD -- One of our Santa figures has obviously broken a spring inside. Can anyone tell me how to remove the top to check out the problem, or direct me to any type of repair manual? I would appreciate any help. Tom Jaworski