•[ Joel Gautier wrote in 070126 MMDigest: > I don't think it's cast aluminum, but I can't be sure. > The player is a Otto Higel from 1915; ... Joel, The frame is made of pot metal, almost as bad [to repair] as Ampico frames. Unfortunately there are not nearly as many Otto Higel players out there so ...

•Joel, I've successfully repaired several Higel transmission frames and other intricate pot metal fittings in the past without resorting to welding or further damage. When the break is clean (and it usually is as they tend to snap in our own hands, drat the luck!) I fit the pieces together and ponde...

•I have a tracker bar with a broken nipple. It looks like the row is set into lead. Is there a way to solder a new nipple or repair one broken just above the leading? Or does the lead have to be melted and the old nipple removed with a new one resealed? And who does this? Regards, Jon Page ...

•Hi, I assume the original query applies to a dislodged nipple. I have done a few of these over the years; it's not a task that should be undertaken by anyone who has little or no soldering experience. However, having said that, this is how I tackled the problem of a broken nipple from the middle of...

•Hi All, While I can certainly understand the position of Eliyahu Shahar or anyone else who has keys in their shop that need replacement ivories, the notion that the original method is the only acceptable way does not take reality into consideration. However, please know that I learned and mastered ...

•I'm at a rare loss of words. As a question of economics, a professional technician needs to do what his customers want, but as a matter of practice, I would say that the default when the piano is in the shop should be doing the method correctly. Looking at the investment of time in a restoration, i...

•Hi All, Again, Eliyahu Shahar (and others) probably share the concern about "un-doing" a repair that involves Krylon enamel paint and Krazy Glue. Friends, fear not! Being from the old school where the credo is "Do No Harm", my first test after developing the Krazy/Krylon technique was to take it ap...

•Hi, I am new to the method of repair of book music. I would also like to join small books together. I am also the owner of Mike Kitner's Bruder 80-note keyless. The center facade has been ended out sometime in it's life. Does anybody have a picture of this organ or have knowledge of what it might h...

•This issue has been discussed at length on MMD a short time ago. Only under exceptional circumstances should botch job be performed, and I don't mind admitting that I have done this myself. For example, you are just completing a major rebuild, with correctly repaired screw holes, when one thread th...

•A bit of information about repairing stripped wood screw holes, based on my experience and tests I conducted. I have found that cyanoacrylate (Super Glue) when used with talcum powder will produce a repair which can be tapped and used with a machine screw will produce a stronger repair than the ori...

•Hello MMD. It's two weeks since I submitted my original query, so it's time to wind things up. I've had several replies for which I am most grateful. Nicholas Simons is quite correct: this subject has been written about before in MMD. When I read his posting it all came back; in fact I rather suspe...

•I have a baby grand piano that was dropped about two feet to the floor during moving and sustained damage to the case on the left front of the case. The damage is sort of a crush damage two inches across the front, one inch back from the corner and about 3/4-inch tall. The case is a darkish wood ve...

•I had a problem where my piano was dropped off the truck. It was in a protective case but there was still crush damage to the corner. The first "professional" that repaired it basically filled it with colored epoxy, and it looked as bad as that sounds. When I had the piano restored, the technician ...

•Was hoping that some one may be able to help me find a plastic slide valve for the wind motor on my Aeolian "The Sting". Have already made one that works very well, my first repair to a player piano. If anyone has one of these pieces I would gladly pay a fair price for one. Please contact me at Tha...

•Noel Butler asks about roll repair tape. The industry standard bible on pianola repairs refers to the use of a 3M's plastic tape (page 205/206). My advice differs from that in the good book. Paper, as a material, is characterised by having a low elongation (up to about 4 percent maximum) and is hyg...

•Hello -- Regarding the repair of rolls I have long used 3M (or even generic brands) Magic Mending Tape, or also called frosted tape. I have rolls that I repaired 40 years ago with this tape and all is fine other than the tape darkening a bit. Also, it is very inexpensive. Best, Marc Goodman Clevela...

•A brave reader wrote in suggesting 3M Magic Mending Tape to repair music rolls. I now join him so he will not be lonely. I have repaired a number of fragile rolls with very narrow strips of this tape, and the rolls have performed perfectly for years since then. Anything can be done badly, and I hav...

•Within the recent discussion about repairing music rolls, there may be interest in a low-cost roll repair table I recently built, using salvaged player piano spool box parts. See http://members.shaw.ca/paud122/repair.htm Regards, Terry Smythe Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada http://members.shaw.ca/smythe...

•This is an interesting subject. I have been buying player piano rolls since 1970. Like most of us who are middle-aged collectors, I have more than an ample supply of 88-note, Ampico and Duo-Art rolls. If there is one lesson that I have learned about old rolls, it is to buy a recut if possible, espe...

•In the 090204 MMD Randy Hammond made many valid observations. I agree with most. What I would like to do is offer alternate opinions on old rolls. First, I have been collecting and repairing old rolls for close to thirty years and have an abundance of most roll types that are out there. For example...