•I'm not sure if this tool is really new, but it is new to me. For the first time, a single hole spring-loaded hand punch has emerged that is somewhat unique. Its cutting tip rotates to cut the paper in a very clean shearing action. I found it in the most current Lee Valley Tools catalog. Priced at ...

•Hello All! I have completed a template to have PC boards made for the MIDster punch machine designed by Bob Essex. The cost for just one board is quite high, but if several were ordered the price becomes more and more reasonable as the numbers go up. I thought I would ask here if anyone else was in...

•Greetings Mechanical Music Digest, I started to lay out a board for the MIDster because I am giving up my perforator (started but not finished) and wanted to get it working with hardware and software. Since the perforator has multiple punch capability, I decided to write my own software instead. I ...

•For those who are in the process of building a music roll punch, I have the punches and dies that Art Sanders used at the Musical Museum in Deansboro, New York. The punches are of the following sizes, in inches: 0.11, 0.166, 0.188, 0.189, 0.19. 0.19, 0.191. The dies are of the following sizes, in i...

•Steve Marx said "I'm seeking information on piano roll perforators of any type. Are there plans that can be bought? Photos? Are there any roll copiers? Is there anyone building perforators? I would appreciate any information." For a few months I have been punching my own 20-note paper rolls for the...

•I also published an article in the COAA Journal, around 2004 or '05, about hand-punching rolls for crank organs. I use my own program, which runs only under Linux, and an old-fashioned dot-matrix printer that can take continuous fanfold paper. I then cut out the holes using a hollow center punch pl...

•Mike Knudsen said, "I also published an article in the COAA Journal, around 2004 or '05, about hand-punching rolls for crank organs. I use my own program, which runs only under Linux, and an old-fashioned dot-matrix printer that can take continuous fanfold paper. I then cut out the holes using a ho...

•[ Wallace Venable wrote in 080621 MMDigest: > One of the key events in getting me started in hand punching was > meeting Mike at the 2006 COAA Rally at Knoebels and hearing him play > his own compositions from hand-punched rolls. His article was also > a help, although I used other software because...

•> ... where would be a good place to go for pre-punched valve leathers? I can make valve facings most sizes for less than Player Piano Co. did. You would have to get and send me the leather to punch them from. I can send you back what leather I don't use for your job. Mike Madeira, Leather Supply H...

•Recently I had the opportunity to examine, compare and study two fairly early piano rolls manufactured by the Aeolian Company about 1910 or a little before. Both rolls are, note for note, of precisely the same arrangement: a rag medley entitled "Plantation Rag". The significant difference is that o...

•I have long been aware that piano rolls manufactured by the Atlas Player Roll Co. of Newark, New Jersey, tend to perform superbly on single-valve players. The Atlas brands are Acme (sold by R. H. Macy), Atlas, Landay, Ray-DiO, Ritz and possibly others. [ See http://www.mmdigest.com/Gallery/MMMedia/...

•Pace Punches makes very nice little tubular punches in a variety of types and in 1/64" increments as well as in metric sizes. I prefer the side outlet type. You can mount the punches on a handle made for files or for wood or leather gouges to make something comfortable in the hand. Pace does have a...

•Round punches and dies are available from a number of manufacturers. Using them will be far easier than making your own and they will outperform anything made of oil-hardening steel. Dies are available as die buttons, which can be press-fitted into the die block. In this application, you can probab...

•This seems like a "newbie" question, but I haven't purchased pouch leather in ages (pun intended -- I think!). Which do people prefer: buying the pre-punched disks, or buying a skin and punching their own discs? Which is more economical? (I have a hard time figuring out how many discs I can get fro...

•In answer to Dave Dewey's question, I would say always punch your own valve pouches. You will have total control over what you are using in your instrument. You can choose exactly the thickness and quality of the leather, and you will save money. You can take care and choose to not use suspect area...

•Hi there: If you think you might be able to sit somewhere for an hour or two of scissors work, you don't even need the punch. I like to listen to audio books, but you can listen to whatever. Randolph Herr

•I have used die punches for cutting various felt and leather punchings. They come in numerous sizes, are approximately one inch tall and not too expensive. There may be a minimum order however. The company I have bought from is http://wagnerdiesupply.com/ Also, I purchased some die punches on eBay ...

•See http://www.ebay.com/itm/121204329405 I have something similar to this that I use for roll repair, with a wooden board underneath. Eli Shahar

•I found my copies of the Bob Essex MIDster Punch plans and software. I will not circulate the construction information. As I remembered, the punch is driven by a PC running DOS. Some "programming" is required. One of the original files carries a 1999 date. One of the reasons I gave up construction ...

•This link will hopefully take you to today's Instructables how-to article which features the Sanyo 20-note manivelle movement. They automated the punching mechanism using a reader and Arduino microprocessor. https://www.instructables.com/id/Making-Music-Box-Punch-Machine-With-Arduino/ I am sure thi...