•Larry, (1) You are correct that the reservoir contracts (moves down) as the vacuum builds. 2) The "patches" you describe on the exhauster bellows are flap valves which exhaust the air. They are supposed to be attached at each end, and act as "check valves" allowing air to pass out of the bellows. A...

•In order to replace the flap valves on a Gem Roller Organ wouldn't I have to remove the exhauster bellows to get to the flap valves? Which means I would have to replace the bellows too? Larry Wilson

•Larry Wilson asks: > In order to replace the flap valves on a Gem Roller Organ wouldn't > I have to remove the exhauster bellows to get to the flap valves? > Which means I would have to replace the bellows too? Yes, that's the general idea. You'll want to anyway -- it's probably full of holes, whet...

•Yes, it is necessary to open up the bellows to get to the inner flap valves on a Gem Roller Organ. (I understand that it's "possible" to do a "bellows-ectomy" and surgically operate on the flap valves, but that would only make sense if the bellows cloth had already been replaced with new.) Those wh...

•-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD -- Do any of you music lovers know how or where I can get the main spring of my Thorens repaired? I was showing my 6-year-old daughter the proper way to wind up her grandmother's music box and ... pop !

•> Do any of you music lovers know how or where I can get the > main spring of my Thorens repaired? Nancy Fratti carries replacement parts for Thorens musical boxes, including new mainsprings. Contact her at . Musically yours, Bill Wineburgh http://members.aol.com/WWineburgh/ ...

•Hello. Any 'real' clock repairman will have a means of winding these springs for replacement, although I'm not sure how easy they will be to find. Still, that's where I'd start... Regards, Bob Loesch - Cuckoobob's Clocks in beautiful Lake County, California, USA http://www.cuckoobob.com/ ...

•I responded to Lambert Johnson privately, but would like to let the group know that I have new mainsprings for the small Thorens disc music boxes, as well as replacement combs, damper rails, star wheel gantries, and governor gears. I'm sure other music box repairers here in the US may also have som...

•Re.: 031106 MMDigest. Have you ever tried laying out an original roll and placing the same tune in a recut roll alongside of it and therefore seeing if they are the same? Frank Adams

•I recently purchased an old roll that has two hard-to-find tunes. The first tune plays okay, but I discovered that the roll width of the second tune is slightly narrower, maybe 1/16" to 1/8", but it's enough to cause tracking problems. I would like to have the entire roll be a uniform width. Is it ...

•[ Ref. "Filling in the Gaps", 04.02.06 MMDigest To Eliyahu and group, The best remedy for over-sanded deck boards is to make new reproductions, copying the original size. However, the following might be helpful for a hobbyist who doesn't have access to the power woodworking tools necessary for maki...

•Eliyahu Shahar indicated that the stack was "professionally restored" in the 80's. My comment to this is that a professional would have used only hot hide glue for attaching the key pneumatics to the deck tier boards, not white glue. Over-sanding on the deck tier boards can be a problem with rebuil...

•I have a Gasparini Dutch street organ beautifully restored by Stephen Kent Goodman of Fresno. It has some great music but the books are in bad state. Before I see what I can do with them, I would like some advice from those who have been in the same situation. My problems are as follows: 1. Torn jo...

•>> I have a Gasparini Dutch street organ beautifully restored by Stephen >> Kent Goodman of Fresno. It has some great music but the books are in >> bad state. Before I see what I can do with them, I would like some >> advice from those who have been in the same situation. My problems >> are as foll...

•I've had great luck learning from reading the MMDigest as it comes by email, and in the MMD Archives, but I'm faced with a problem that I haven't seen discussed much, unless I missed it. I have recently acquired a Link 2E that was described as 'original' but still playing. For reasons that amount t...

•I thought someone might respond to the questions concerning the Link 2-E model nickelodeon. Link to my knowledge never published a tubing diagram for this model. There was a small pamphlet at one time in print on servicing the Link pianos but I don't remember any details from the pamphlet that woul...

•Hi once again, I'd like to open a subject that has cost me a good number of piano rolls and ask if someone has found a solution (before I throw away my next otherwise perfectly good roll). Does anyone have a method for repairing a long bridge where the cross supports have long torn, especially thos...

•Hi Eliyahu and MMD. I have two punches, one for 88-note and one for 65-note rolls, that produce a strip of iron-on tape about 7 cm long, with three side-by-side rows of holes punched in it (two rows in the case of the 65n punch). I separate the rows with a scalpel. The iron-on tape is called Crompt...

•In response to Paul Eggert's query, a Teflon ironing sheet is a thin flexible sheet made out of woven Teflon. The ones I have are about 30 cm by 20 cm, or 12 inches by 8 inches. These sheets are used by sewing enthusiasts and patchworkers for applying applique patches to whatever. They cost a few d...

•In response to the query raised about barrel piano repairs, many years ago I helped restore one which involved, amongst other things, a complete restringing. It turned out very well but I later learnt from a professional piano technician that it is advisable to use one gauge higher string size for ...