•A book could be written on this subject. There are so many points to cover. Concerning additives: there is no single super-duper cure-all. Nothing works well every time. In fact, sometimes what works for a while ends up being detrimental in the long run. When I find a stiff action, I go by my previ...

•Tight or "sticky" pivots are better than loose ones, I think. IPA (alcohol) and water (one tiny drop on pivot left to dry) works well. A little "exercising" of pivot in conjunction with concurrent 90 degree moment each way also effective. Alan Erb

•Eric Shoemaker wrote in 030216 MMDigest: > On another subject: sticky action parts -- I have found the chemical > "Perc" to be the perfect (pardon the pun) "solution" to this problem. Sounds toxic. The best CLP to use is available from Joe Goss http://www.mothergoosetools.com/ The product is Goose ...

•I have attended several Piano Technicians Guild meetings, seminars and conventions. They are excellent sources for information about these type of subjects. The organization is loaded with people who disparage automatic musical instruments, and player rebuilders clearly do not get the respect they ...

•I have a 5 HP repulsion-start, induction-run Century motor driving an Orgoblo pipe organ blower. The centrifugal assembly which pulls the bushes off the commutator and applies a shorting ring seems erratic and probably needs cleaning. Does anyone have any experience in maintenance of this type of m...

•We have a 5 hp repulsion-induction motor, on our Ashorne Compton organ, driving a Discus blower by Watkins and Watson circa 1933. The motor is dual-voltage, single-phase, 1450 rpm [on 50 Hz mains]. It's very reliable, but on one occasion the switch-over gear jammed and it was held in induction mode...

•Hi All, Check the Theatre Organ home page and follow the link that is part way down the page for a scan of an original Spencer OrgoBlo owner's manual: http://www.theatreorgans.com/ Also, check the ATOS Mississippi Chapter knowledge base article for complete directions on restoring a Century blower...

•Hello Everyone, There is a page on the cleaning and repair of Century motors and Spencer blowers at: http://atos.stirlingprop.com/kbase/century/index.htm There are a lot of pictures so the page does take some time to load. Hope this helps, Phil Underwood

•-- forwarded message, please reply to sender and MMD -- Hello there. I am a guy from Copenhagen, Denmark. I've just bought a Polyphon 15.5" and need help for much of the repair. Can you please tell me where I can find help for this project? Best regards Thomas Hendrix Copenhagen

•Greetings to all! I would like to say 'Thank You' to all who have taken time to reply to my questions regarding use of whiting and gum arabic as a stop for soldering organ pipes. Organ Supply Industries is a source of these, as well as stearine candles. They also provide a recipe for the whiting an...

•-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD -- Lindner Pianos were the most advanced and innovative pianos for a hundred years. They were light, durable, cheap, of a good tone and conventional touch. Levelling of the keys was a minute's job. Lost motion was cured in minutes. The plastic actio...

•What a coincidence! I had my first Universal player stack brought into the shop by a local tuner last weekend. It had completely quit. The problem seemed to be that they used a polyurethane pouch formed over a PVC ring and then glued into the pouch well, very much like a Wurlitzer valve block. Most...

•Hi All, In reference to Brian Thornton's posting about repairing Universal pouches, there's a much easier way! Instead of repairing them, replace them! I have a source that makes new rings. A complete set sells for $115.00. The pouch material is crystal clear polyethylene, which is impervious to mo...

•-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD -- I have the following questions regarding the repair of cylinder music boxes: 1. What is the best way to polish the brass barrel of the cylinder without disturbing the pins? 2. Is a clock mainspring barrel such as made by Hermle or Kieninger suita...

•> I have the following questions regarding the repair of cylinder > music boxes: > > 1. What is the best way to polish the brass barrel of the > cylinder without disturbing the pins? The best way to polish the brass barrel of the cylinder is to first remove it and use a brass/copper metal polish (s...

•The simple answer to your question is, and this is not intended to put you down, don't even try. The questions you ask suggest that you have little or no experience with musical box repair and also that the box may be very seriously damaged to the point of not being worth fixing in the first place...

•-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD -- I am restoring an ancient player piano with the Simplex action. I think the governor/regulator needs adjusting. When the bellows are pumped, there is air coming out the flapper valves upon release of each pedal, but the motor and hence the roll d...

•In regard to Mr. Austin's Simplex problems; Have you checked the slide connections to the governor assembly? Are the leather nuts in place or are they loose? Is there any vacuum coming from the governor nipple when you pump? Does your air motor turn freely? Try testing your air motor with another s...

•Hi Roy, Player-Care.com has a fair amount of information about the Simplex player mechanism. Just use the handy Search Feature on the main page and type in the word "Simplex". Or you can go to the Search Page (see below) and perform the search: http://www.player-care.com/atlas_99.html You can also ...

•Hi all, here is a quick fixer upper. Just yesterday I was playing my Hardman Duo console and one of the valves in the tracker pneumatic went bad on me. I didn't have the super fine thin paper that was in it to replace it with, so my quick fix was to use a piece of plastic from a Ziplock bag. Now, b...