•Pianos are not the only objects to suffer from mold. Our saddles got it. The circulation blower motor for our new heating and air-conditioning system died, due to a manufacturing defect. The local air-conditioning company could not get the correct replacement motor immediately (it was a variable-sp...

•Hello -- I assume you are asking about paper for 110 mm standard "Raffin" or "Carl Frei", etc., music rolls. I (or rather Rudolf Klomfar, who punches for me) use standard white paper with weight about 80 grams per square meter. Technically, this has the well-known disadvantages of tearing, and expa...

•Jonathan King asked, "Has anyone ever tried to match the frequency of two steam whistles to get the tremolo affect?" The "Celeste" effect is beautiful, but to tune for it deliberately, requires that the tone sources are stable enough in pitch to make it worthwhile. Steam calliope whistles are so un...

•John Tuttle asked about the smell of ozone. Ozone is an allotropic form of the element oxygen. Oxygen exists as a gas in our atmosphere in the stable but reactive molecular form of two atoms per molecule [O2]. If the oxygen molecule is excited by external electromagnetic energy of a selected wavele...

•The roll mechanism being in good order such as on types where the sensing finger(s) move clear on "rewind", etc., then the rolls themselves then are the problem. If one spool end (opposite to drive spool) becomes too slack in the core, the paper moves side to side on rewind. It is then put in its b...

•Robbie asked in 021118 MMDigest: >[ Can the Overture solenoid player system accommodate friction changes >[ in the piano action, Don? The Ampico B player had an adjustment for >[ this purpose that was pretty effective. Stoddard's work on this problem was effective. In answer to your question, yes, ...

•I would like to emphasize that I am not biased toward new ideas and inventive thinking. On the contrary I have spent much of my life trying to reinvent the wheel. As a professional, however, I must vocalize that this whole concept is ridiculous. I am a Registered Piano Technician and have tuned tho...

•On a similar "note" one of my other hobbies is breeding endangered species birds. These birds are very expensive to purchase when available, and extremely difficult to breed otherwise they would not be nearing extinction nor expensive! The $64 question is whether the environment or the genetics of ...

•I would suggest that if someone wants a piano that stays in tune for a long period of time that they acquire an old Mason and Hamlin Screw Stringer model. They hold tune for a long time if climatic conditions stay stable. I was always told that one of the biggest reasons a piano with good pinblock ...

•I would suggest that if someone wants a piano that stays in tune for a long period of time that they acquire an old Mason and Hamlin Screw Stringer model. They hold tune for a long time if climatic conditions stay stable. I was always told that one of the biggest reasons a piano with good pinblock ...

•Over the years I have been called out to look at previously restored Ampico units in which the expression has quit working and/or the piano plays weakly. These are restorations that were done up to 15 or more years ago. The one thing I seem to find every time is that the seal on Bakelite valve seat...

•I think that if a Cremona pinblock has pulled loose then it should be replaced. The last three Cremona's I have had all needed new pinblocks. These are commonly referred to as open faced pinblocks. The plate has a large area left open for the pinblock compared to later style pianos that had tuning ...

•I've been buying recuts since Larry Givens began cutting. We all know that Larry's "cut-rite rolls" crinkle. Now I notice some of the Powell [Klavier] rolls are crinkling near the end. Also I hear it in some Play-Rite and Keystone rolls. There are lines in the paper that line up with the spiral pat...

•Hi, all, After four decades-plus as a minor music-box collector I'm ready for my first coin piano, but there's a hitch: this piano will live in Tucson, albeit in a decent, humidity controlled environment. So I'm looking for a restorable Seeburg KT or Special (or something else with similar instrume...

•I looked at this auction for the Regina Music Box, and saw the same warning flags as others did: 0 rating on the seller, high-price item, Private Auction, and money order or cashiers check for payment. The "squiggle" in the lower-right corner of the picture is a watermark added when you post a pict...

•What you are after here is a glossy barrier which will prevent the agents of deterioration from reaching the metal. If you don't need high gloss then microcrystaline wax will do just as well, less expensive and easier to re-do. The important thing to realize is that no matter what barrier you apply...

•A controlled environment is the single most important thing you can do to protect anything. Install modern windows including UV protection and upgrade your furnace and air conditioner so that it can keep things stable. Seal windows and door frames and where possible install a good heavy storm door ...

•-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD -- I just by accident stumbled on the MMD website. God, how I wish I had known of it before. I had built five Wurlitzer 125's, one 150, and a street organ for a company which went bankrupt and left me with a warehouse full. Then I had a traffic acci...

•I found the following info on the Pharmco web site: "Anhydrous alcohol literally means no-water alcohol, but in reality it means low-water alcohol. This distinction is synonymous with '200 proof' alcohol. Another term for anhydrous is dehydrated ... Our anhydrous grades of alcohol are always below ...

•[ Don Cox wrote in 050914 MMDigest: > I have found PTFE to be a good lubricant for wood-on-wood; there > are various aerosols on the market. I have wondered about this. Thank you. > Another possibility is to make small pegs from PTFE rod and insert > them in holes in the wood so that they are just ...