•As the majority of my first rolls were ancient, baked, brittle, water stained, disintegrating, bug-eaten, even moldy, not to mention the many broken collars, ripped leaders, and shredded sides, I started repairing rolls, as soon as I got my first batch last year. I have had some very gratifying res...

•I tried Tom Lear's method on restoring paper player piano rolls. I recently bought a batch of five that must have been in an attic; they were so brittle that I could not even touch the paper without putting my finger right through it. One song, "Broadway Melody", was one that I had been seeking for...

•Piano plates can crack for different reasons. One typical scenario is failing of the pin block glue joint: the string tension pulls the pin block forward, and 'voila'! I own and fixed such a piano; it has been fine for 15 years. Every plate crack needs to be individually evaluated. Some are benign...

•Hi Folks, I am in the cleaning and inspecting phase of an M. Schulz upright player action rebuild. The only defects in the piano I can find are bridge pin cracks (not pin block). Most bridge pins have a crack emanating out from the pin approximately 1/16 inch and perpendicular to its associated str...

•A crack at the bridge will not affect tuning stability but will cause false beats from allowing the pin to vibrate, a vibrato effect which is most annoying. CA glue can be applied cautiously while the piano is on its back. Thin viscosity will seep in and do the trick, and a medium could be used fol...

•As a new subscriber I thought I would like to share some information on a little 1976 Duo-Art (at least it looks exactly like the picture you have on your picture archives) that has come into my possession. There was some discussion last year regarding one from Australia, I believe. The piano was n...

•The RTV sealer thread reminded me of a zinc pipe in particular from the 1927 Kilgen I removed. It was a lesson in how _not_ to repair pipes in an organ. I will describe the repairs done to it and a few others and later scan a photo for my web site showing it. The pipe was originally mitered. It is ...

•Since it is only one flange on the continuous brass flange rail that is broken, I would suggest using a repair clip of the type sold by Schaff or American Piano Supply. One can have the rail duplicated by the above companies, but I have used many of the repair clips over the years and have found th...

•I just bought one of those orchestrion player pianos from Ragtime Automatic Music Co. (R.A.M.), with xylophone, snare drum, kettledrum, Indian block and tambourine. It doesn't work at all but it didn't cost much. The MMD Archive didn't have anything that I could find on repair of these units. I tho...

•Hi Everyone, All I can say regarding any of Ragtime Automatic Music Company's (R.A.M.) systems that were installed 12 years ago or older is to replace all of the pneumatics, because all of the values are Perflex and the original casing is aluminum. Ken Calkins, the owner of Ragtime (http://www.ragt...

•I trust the pins are the same diameter as the originals when measured with a micrometer. To achieve a tight fit in the rails, swab the holes with either epoxy or CA glue and let cure. Reaming the hole with a drill bit afterward may be necessary to get a proper fit. Care must be taken to maintain th...

•I can identify with Benjamin Haass's problem with regards to installing new key pins in a unit that had very rusty key pins. I had a similar problem when I rebuilt an old Kohler & Campbell 'Tom Thumb' upright that had been stored in a boiler room for 15 years. Ouch! The center rail pins can be glue...

•[ Ref. 010821 MMDigest, Seek Repair of Olympia Disc Music Box ] I will preface my remarks by stating that I have no experience with Olympia disc boxes, but I have brought a Regina back to life from the dead. In any event, there is much similarity in the mechanisms in many regards. I don't think you...

•You said it. If you consider yourself sufficiently skilled to repair a spring motor, you're sufficiently skilled to build yourself a spring winder: they're not difficult to construct and they make the job far safer and easier. It's usually not hard to repair a spring -- they typically break at one ...

•Several months ago I purchased a Gem roller organ on eBay auction. After examining the thing and trying to play a couple of the rollers that came with it, I have determined that it needs some work. My question is where to start! The main problem is that it doesn't develop enough suction. The reserv...

•Greetings Matthew, Welcome to a great hobby. Low vacuum on your Gem Roller Organ could be from any one of a number of causes. Generally the best course of action is to do a complete rebuild of the organ. While you are recovering the vacuum reservoir you can look for any cracks in the wood that woul...

•If you are new to mechanical musical devices, and have not recovered bellows, I suggest you hire the work done by a professional who is experienced in this type of work. It is not a big job. Old bellows material can look perfectly good, yet be full of small holes. I am sure that the pads covering t...

•Matthew, In a normal Gem Roller Organ, there are three common areas which may be leaking, contributing to a loss of vacuum. The most common that I've seen is the bellows cloth which covers both the bottom bellows (exhauster) and the top reservoir. Look for any places where the cloth has become brit...

•In 011218 MMDigest Matthew Walworth asked about how to approach the repair of a Gem roller organ. The best plan is to read up on how these organs are made and how they work. Then seek the help of someone in your area who has some experience restoring organettes. Check the MBSI and AMICA publication...

•I just rebuilt my first Concert Roller Organ about one month ago. I had to replace all of the pneumatic cloth and valves. The organ seemed to be original and never rebuilt. What surprised me was that the vacuum reservoir valve flaps were covered using pneumatic cloth, rather than leather. The inter...