•I've been reading back and forth about different punching machines and that they would be quite easy to build. I do, however, have my doubts, not only about the construction, but also about the machines accuracy and its 'lifetime'. I don't write this to kick off yet another thread about that, but f...

•Dear readers, My wife and I just returned from three wonderful days in Pennsylvania. Our first stop was Keystone Music Roll Co., which has now moved into much larger and better facilities. We had a great tour and came home with at least another dozen rolls, which will be played in the next couple d...

•I don't know about it's being made in England, but machinist Robert Streicher used to sell a punch similar to the one described by Vincent Morgan in MMD 020104. It too was spring loaded and about the size of a fountain pen, comfortably heavy and very well-made. The one I have has endured thousands ...

•Spring loaded center punches are easy to find and, like most tools, are available in cheap Chinese brands that are less then reliable, and also as better brands such as Starrett and others. The best compromise might be a better quality import from MSC or other supplier. Leather and craft supplies s...

•In spite of the under whelming response, I have decided to offer a line of small precision tubular punches for roll repair. I made them for myself since nothing else seems to be available any more. They are not cheap as they are a custom-made product. I am not going to sell one to every household i...

•Hello there! I wanted to use the opportunity of our MMD-community to see what is the current range from all those who do have MIDI-punch machines for 20er rolls (Frei/Raffin, not the busker organ one), both commercial and private, for having a roll punched from client-provided ready-arranged MIDI-f...

•I've just replaced the photocopier at work and have retained the dead one with the hope of using some of the parts in it to build an 88-note piano roll perforator. I've read some good reports on Bob Essex's MIDster punch in the MMD Archives but wonder if anyone has used this design to punch 88-note...

•For Sale: Book punch, complete set of equipment for making cardboard books for organs and other instruments. Fixtures, jigs, transposing board, book press. Punch is foot operated with turret head for 4 punch sizes plus quantity of punches. Several bundles of raw cardboard. $1000.00 or best offer. N...

•[ Ref. "Printing a Book Music Template on a Cardboard Book" ] Recent correspondence on this subject has made a simple job appear difficult. Here is the good old-fashioned way. Firstly, get your paper master, arranged in whichever way you want, i.e., manually or computer printed. Personally, I belie...

•Hi! Nicholas Simons is undoubtedly right: the 'easiest' way is the oldest one: use a master, attach it to the cardboard and then you can re-use the master for music repeats, future recuts, etc. I've been doing it for some time now and it works, although it's quite a tedious job! I also tried the 'i...

•Where can I buy a punch of the proper diameter for the holes in 'A' rolls? I am looking for a hand punch. Bob Stewart

•Greetings automuse, Pace Punch makes tubular punches for the die cutting industry. I forget if they have a minimum order but the prices are very low. You can get a variety of punches which can be mounted in a custom or ready made holder for hand punching. A pin vise or other tool holder could be us...

•I am looking for someone who can build me a MIDster punch, as designed by Bob Essex. The punch will be used to punch standard 20-note Raffin rolls, for commercial use. Please contact: Hiddo van Os http://www.hvomusicnl.com/ hvomusicnl@tiscali.nl.geentroep [delete ".geentroep" to reply] ...

•Up for sale are the electronics portion of a music roll punch designed to operate off of MIDI files. I had the circuit board built by someone knowledgeable in the electronics field which I am not. Full details and pictures at http://www.edgaida.com/midster.html Ed Gaida San Antonio, Texas - where i...

•I am offering for sale a music book punch built by Terry Haughawout. My partner and I purchased it slightly used. We cut about 700 meters of cardboard before discontinuing the business. It has punches, dies and index bars for 52 keyless Gebrüder Bruder, 33 keyless Ruth, as well as for keyed instrum...

•I think Randy Charles is referring to Bob Essex's "MIDster" punching machine. For details, check out http://members.aol.com/midpunch/ This machine has a single hole punch which scans along the roll width punching one hole at a time, then advancing the paper and punching another row, etc. Because it...

•Randy Charles wrote: > A while back I ran across the name and email address for a gentleman > who had a set of plans (and some software, I think) for making a roll > punching machine using parts from pin-type printer. If I remember > correctly, he was from Great Britain. That is probably Bob Essex...

•I think the person Randy Charles is looking for is me. The MIDster Punch system, which comprises booklet and software, is still going strong after five years since publication. A great many music roll punching machines have been built to this design in countries all around the world. The MIDster sy...

•Over the years that I have been selling my MIDster Punch design and software for a computer-controlled punch machine, I have been asked many times if I could supply a ready-made machine, or where one could be purchased. At last this is a rare chance to buy one! I have been asked, by a MIDster build...

•Many simple schemes to read rolls into other formats are not concerned with the exact punch events, while sophisticated systems intend to create exact replicas of each punch event and the increment spacing as the roll is advanced. While there are quite a few ways to do this electronically, here is ...